This is a new body of work which the artist, Arlene Amaler-Raviv, created during a 3 month studio visit to Berlin in January, February and March of 2011.

The works articulate all the major themes that have dominated her work over the last forty years, and draw on the parallels between the trauma of her own country and that of Germany. The Arab Spring which began during Arlene’s residency adds yet another strand to these troubled histories.

The personal and narratives of the artist and anonymous Berliners, and the collective stories of the peoples of many African countries, including our own, and the Arabic-speaking lands in the North, are woven together through the medium of a unique series of re-worked post cards that date back as far as the 1930’s. Arlene’s mark-making inscribed upon the historic postcards, purchased in the street markets of Berlin, combine to present diverse personal experiences in a moving and accessible form.

Also see: http://www.bolus.uct.ac.za/

This exhibition brings together and celebrates the work of Rae Hearn and Ian Garrett. These two artists are unusual in their dedication to the process of their respective techniques. They share an interest in exploring surface, detail and depth in their works: Hearn builds up meticulous layers of oil paint on gesso-ground, exploring its ability to absorb or reflect light – Garrett plays with a counterpoint of textures, contrasting motifs with finely burnished areas of clay. Beyond the surface, meaning in the work of both artists is derived from layers of association and influence – they investigate the abstract language of pattern making and precognitive primal recognition - which in turn triggers unconscious feelings and an association of thoughts.

RAE HEARN
Rae Hearn's variations on landscapes are alive with currents of free association. She revels in using photomontage and oil paint to generate fusions of space and subject matter that hum with the static emitted when realism, abstraction and imagination touch. She employs form and meaning in views that may seem strangely familiar or unexpected, or charged with the kind of simplicity she suspects is locked into everything large and complex.

IAN GARRETT
Ian Garrett’s hand-built, burnished vessels focus on purity of ceramic form and its eloquent description through decoration. His work may be read as a mapping of his biography through motifs that form part of an ongoing history.

Ian’s works on exhibition fall into two series: The first continues in the technique of highly burnished vessels with delicate mussel-shell impressions for which he has gained much acclaim. With arcs of abstract lines or botanical sprays these pieces refer to a layering of references and inspirations from archaeological to personal. The second series with raised contours of design are inspired by ancient hand-built storage pots. Ian reinvents their sculptural contours, creating eloquent tactile arabesques for their expressive quality. The pit-firing adds its own flare of colour, contributing to the unique character of each piece.

www.iangarrettceramics.com
www.raehearn.co.za