Remarks by Mmutle Arthur Kgokong

FOR SALE PROJECT EXHBITION
Home Coming

Pretoria Art Museum
6 – 31 October 2008

Remarks

A while ago a group of artists who have come to be associated with the Pretoria Art Museum through the Education and Development Programme proposed to the museum to have an exhibition of their own work. It was befitting when the eight artists titled the exhibition that was to be hung at the Art Museum’s satellite Art Gallery – Centurion Art Gallery: The Genesis Exhibition. These artists were starting out in the field of art practice despite the fact that virtually all of them were still art students.

You will notice that I use the word ‘artists’ at the outset not ‘art students’. It is for the fact that for me the students who over the years have been approaching the art museum’s Education and Development Programme with the intention to make the collection of the Art Museum accessible to the public through the conducting of guided tours and art making workshops I have always regarded them as artists on a professional level nothing less.

This exhibition has been an ongoing development of visual art showcasing following the Genesis Exhibition in 2004. There have been three other exhibitions since then taking place annually. How privilege the present artists are to have the opportunity to be part of an assemblage to bring the phenomena that is the For Sale Project Exhibition to home ground – The Pretoria Art Museum. Today colleagues, friends and perhaps some of the children that we have come into contact with as we conducted tours or facilitated workshops will have the opportunity to see their art. It is therefore fit to subtitle this year’s project exhibition– Home Coming.

The seven artists exhibiting are approaching their production from different perspective even the material of work on show has variety in terms of medium application. If the material stresses the difference of the body of work on show – the concerns of the pieces bring the body of work on show together in that these artists are concerned with the struggle of humanity in our contemporary society.

The relief layering in Dlamini’s work creates a rough texture. While Lila is almost on a similar course of abstraction she brings these abstract renditions of goat skin paintings into a series to heighten the mystery of the overall content. Monsthiwa takes inspiration from her home background in terms of the mine shafts. The results an industrial layered series shaft shaped sculptures. The thematic concerns of the financial alienation brought on by economic challenges in both Mosopa and Selekane works cannot be denied. This can be witnessed in Mosopa’s haunting black and white drawings and prints and Selekane’s thickly layered paintings.
Marakalala projects two prominent political figures in the politics of Southern Africa and Tlatsane’s flat paintings signal economy of material application and ongoing personal development towards abstract forms.

In closing, ever since the first installment of the For Sale Project exhibition driving force has been to elevate the young artists dedicated to the Pretoria Art Museum to a level of professional practice. This year were have partly achieved this goal if not in full (for the other half is the artist’s contribution to their own development of their career). It is with pleasure that we confirm that we have truly arrived at home in terms of development with this Project Exhibition.


Mmutle Arthur Kgokong

Culture Officer: Education and Development Programme
City of Tshwane
PRETORIA ART MUSEUM