Longtime friends and renowned South African artists, Zwelethu Mthethwa and Louis Jansen van Vuuren, are set to join forces this November in a collaborative exhibition to be showcased in association with Coronation Fund Managers at new Cape Town art gallery, iArt.
Entitled Entre Nous / Between Ourselves / Phakathi Kwethu, Mthethwa describes the exhibition as: ‘An exploration of technique as a subject matter.’ It’s a visual dialogue in a single space between Mthethwa and friend and mentor, Jansen van Vuuren, who have spent recent months corresponding about the direction in which art is moving and the great potential that exists in working on collaborative pieces.
Says Mthethwa: ‘I’ve selected about fifty of my photographs, which have been captured over a period of ten years, and had them specially printed on cotton paper. Using mixed media, such as oil and acrylic paint and ink, Louis has interpreted, conceptualised and added to these based on his personal life experience. Technique forms the subject matter of each work. For example, in certain works, Louis has cut my photographs into strips and woven an artwork together.’
While this collaboration attempts to enhance the inherent concept through points of confluence and visual dialogue, it simultaneously addresses contrasting points between the styles of Mthethwa, a Zulu, and Jansen van Vuuren, an Afrikaaner now living in France, in a manner that celebrates their differing backgrounds, their common heritage as South Africans and, above all else, their unique friendship.
THE FRIENDS - ZWELETHU MTHETHWA AND LOUIS JANSEN VAN VUUREN
In the early 1990s, Mthethwa, a relatively new artist at the time, sought guidance in creating a career for himself in the often harsh business of art. It was to Louis Jansen van Vuuren, then university lecturer at Michaelis School of Fine Art and distinguished South African artist who shares Mthethwa’s love of the pastel, that he turned to for assistance.
Mthethwa, who today fetches between US$18,000 and US$25,000 for his photographs on the international market, honourably credits Jansen van Vuuren for helping him to ‘break into the art market.’ He says: ‘Louis trained and mentored me in the business and technical aspects of art.’
Over the years, their relationship has developed from one of mentorship to one of equals and friends.
In 1994, Jansen van Vuuren and Mthethwa became working colleagues when Mthethwa was appointed lecturer of photography and drawing at Michaelis School of Fine Art and, in the same year, the two artists exhibited together at a group exhibition held at the Gillman Gallery in Miami entitled Crosscurrents – Contemporary South African Art. In 1999, Mthethwa and Jansen van Vuuren successfully collaborated with esteemed South African artist, Willie Bester, at a three person exhibition at the Association of Visual Arts and again at the same venue in 2000 with Kagiso Pat Mautloa.
Although the two artists now live in different parts of the world their friendship remains strong, as do their discussions about art.
About Zwelethu Mthethwa
Mthethwa’s career as an artist began in 1984 when he received a Diploma in Fine Art from Michaelis. His success there saw him receiving and accepting a Fulbright Scholarship to study a Masters degree in Fine Art at The Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA. Seven years ago, after spending time lecturing at Michaelis, he decided to become a full-time artist. He has catapulted to success and is considered today to be one of South Africa’s leading artists.
Mthethwa is known to exhibit his pastel works exclusively in South Africa, while his photographs, which generally depict and honour people living their lives in South Africa’s informal settlements, are showcased internationally.
A prolific artist, Mthethwa has held exhibitions in some of the world’s foremost galleries, while his works are showcased in many Public Collections, including: The Pompidou Centre in France, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Museum of Modern Art in San Fransico, as well as New York’s Guggenheim Museum, to name but a few.
About Louis Jansen van Vuuren
Prior to relocating in 2000 to a Chateau in the French countryside, Jansen van Vuuren spent his professional academic life lecturing art and graphic design at university level. He has become renowned for his evocative pastel works; rooted in his own reality, and encompassing countries he has visited, vistas he has experienced and everyday African objects, his works remain an enigma. His paintings are made up of objects, figures and places from our everyday world, yet they are somehow not of it – they are sublime.
Since moving to France, Jansen van Vuuren’s works have seen a change in tone, atmosphere and colour, which has been inspired by the hues of the French countryside.
Jansen van Vuuren began exhibiting in the mid-1960s and has held more than 80 exhibitions throughout South Africa and abroad. He successfully exhibits in London and France and his works are showcased in the art collections of The National Gallery in South Africa, the Universities of Cape Town and Bloemfontein, as well as in those of Vodacom and Santam.