So! Last night we had the opening of the Pulp Fiction exhibition at the artSPACE durban Gallery, conceived by me, and birthed and curated by the owner (of the gallery) Karen Bradtke and I.
Below: the artSPACE durban Gallery
The participating artists were: swany, Corne Eksteen, Andrew Verster, Angie Arbothnot, Shauna Southam, Jane Alexander, Mandy Kok, Sam Boock, Michael Croeser, Karen Bradtke, Marianne Meijer, Sandra Hogg, Mikhail Peppas, and Sanabelle Ebrahim.
I am here to tell you, it was a huuuge amount of work, and so, believe me when I tell you that the gallery earns its commission on works sold. As an artist I would bitch about the 38% of my sales being taken by the gallery, but in this exhibition I had an opportunity to experience both sides of the coin. So artists, trust me, the galleries deserve and earn their commission!
So yeah! I am absolutely exhausted! Quite literally pulped! In addition to all the work I had to do to put the exhibition together I also had to create a piece for the exhibition. True to my nature I did not choose the easy route but went way out of my comfort zone and decided to work with inks. Conceptually it suited the theme of the exhibition and I always try to grow as an artist so something new it was! I experimented with lino prints and drawing and painting with ink. To be honest I was not certain about how successful my works were but I did receive some positive feedback from the artists at the opening so that’s good.
Above: Jailbird (lino-prints)
Above: Jailbait (lino-print and ink-work)
This has been my 6th exhibition this year so it has been a really busy and I would say productive year for me. Sadly sales have been terrible. Durban, it seems just does not get me. Jenny Stretton, curator at the Durban Art Gallery (our metro gallery), has advised I get my work into more contemporary galleries in South Africa’s two main cities, Cape Town and Johannesburg. I’m thinking though that if I am going to have to look further afield for success and recognition it might as well be out there in the big wide world. So that is what I am starting to do! Who knows, my next big step out of my comfort zone might be Dubai or London or Los Angeles!
I will, of course, keep you, as always, informed, dear reader.