The GCBR has curated a vibrant collection for “The Rhythm of Life” Art Exhibition that will be held at the Silver Mountain Music Festival on 17 June 2023. This collection will be displayed at the Richard Cock and Friends Shed concert from 15:00 to 20:00 and includes some special artworks that pay homage to the chameleons, snakes and fish which are being celebrated at this year’s festival.
We are proud to represent this collection and are pleased to introduce the artists who will be participating in this exclusive event.
Cole Hay
Cole is a writer and editor by profession, but an artist at heart. An unapologetic creative, she balances time between the rigours of technical language work and the freedom to create expressive imagery. Cole is a self-taught artist with an obsession with colour and how it creates the illusion of light. Her journey with art began as a child with a handful of half-melted Crayolas and the back of a flattened out cereal box, taking the long road of trial and error to figure out the best way to express her creativity. Her subject matter is diverse and strongly influenced by her varied surroundings, but her latest work goes inward and probes the unchartered emotions, philosophies and fantasies that comprise her creative make-up. She paints in the style of pop-expressionism when feeling playful and emotive, but is equally comfortable sitting for long, stationary hours when the demands of realism are required.
Cole’s carousel-themed work is currently on exhibition at THE Gallery in Montagu.
Ferdo Voigt
A passionate full-time artist for around 20 years, Ferdo paint in oils, switching between fine brushwork and the palette knife, depending on the demands of each painting. He is mostly self-taught, constantly learning and upskilling through online tutorials, traditional art books and being inspired by other artists. Having travelled extensively, his inspiration comes from being at peace in nature, whether at the Egyptian pyramids, exploring the jungle in Belize, or free-diving with living treasures in the ocean. For the last few years, his work has explored small-town urban and rural landscapes, the wide vistas of the Little Karoo as well as the inner landscapes of the human subconscious. His passion for ocean life has inspired a range of sculptures of the local fish, which have found their way onto the walls of many collectors. He has recently expanded his artistic offering with lino cutting and printmaking, incorporating landscapes and natural scenes in the reduction lino method.
Ferdo’s art is on extended exhibition at the Karoo Art Hotel in Barrydale and THE Gallery in Montagu.
Louise Kluyts
Louise Kluyts is an artist who lives, works, and facilitates art workshops at Star Nation Art Studio & Gallery in Heidelberg. Simple lines and brilliant, saturated colours are the basis of her naive floral and often abstract art. Her uninhibited and intuitive approach to different mediums and composition give rise to highly individual works. Each painting is a bold expression, but at the same time, filled with symbolism and meaning, taking you on a journey of new insights. Louise’s art is characterised by raw creativity and an innocent frankness, realised on canvas in an eclectic range of mediums. Louise jumps from medium to medium with childlike abandon; she genuinely loves experimenting with different materials and displays a dare-to-try attitude towards creativity and art.
Machdel Basson
Machdel Basson resides in Still Bay. Having grown up in the countryside, she has a deep connection and love of the natural world. Many of her paintings are inspired by the spectacular fynbos landscapes that are etched in her mind. Machdel creates true South African, perceptual art. “My art is not mere replicas, but a spiritual experience.”
Merryn Carver
Merryn Carver is a professional theatre maker, designer and puppet-maker in Cape Town. She has been sewing clothes and toys since her teenage years and is pedantic about seams and stitches. Formerly a puppeteer on the multi-award-winning satirical South African puppet television show, Puppet Nation ZA (previously known as ZA News), notable theatre credits include being a creative collaborator and designer for Patchwork with Pillowfort Productions (Baxter, Bologna, Cape Town Fringe), and in 2012 she directed and co-wrote, A Tale of Horribleness, with The Space Behind the Couch, which enjoyed a successful run at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Performing credits include Hearts and Eyes’ award-winning Sadako, a Bunraku Puppetry production which travelled to Festival Mondial des Théatres de Marionnettes in Charleville-Mézières, France.
Michelle Henn
Michelle Henn is a full-time artist; inspired mostly by expressionistic art with a love for strong vibrant colours, or muted pallets with high contrast. Her favourite subjects are inspired by the beauty of nature mainly seascapes, landscapes with an intriguing play on other subjects such as still life, objects or animals found in and around these nature-based areas. She avoids the traditional realistic approach, and rather studies her subject by composing the elements to create a striking end-result. Work is done in professional acrylics, oils and occasionally incorporates multimedia such as the use of drawing pastels, lace, shell fragments and wood. With formal training in Interior Design and Art Therapy Facilitating, combined an extensive past career in marketing, Michelle recently founded Smudge Creative Agency, with the aim of combining art with adventure retreats, demonstrations, private tuition and commissions, illustrations, murals, prints and bespoke social media marketing solutions.
Nadine Hansen
Nadine Hansen is a South African visual artist, working in mediums ranging from watercolours and oil paint to graphite, polymer and resin sculpture, even plant matter and dried insects find their way into artworks. Hansen is known for her contemplative self-portraits in oil paint on oval canvas and graphite drawings on paper. Nadine’s work often contains natural specimens and even thread. Her work engages in a variety of narratives. Animal and botanical additions to the portrait are expressive of thoughts or concepts. Motivated by ongoing conservation issues – Hansen incorporates natural elements to her portraits, attempting to repair the human and nature relationship. Her work has been described as delicate, sensitive and close to nature.
Nakita Joubert
Nakita worked on commercial craft projects using chalk pastels, ink and acrylics until she realised her calling as an artist in the nineties. She then started painting landscapes, animals, and birds, and she also took up pottery and sculpting. It was while painting her dreams and allowing her imagination to run free that she discovered the love for her signature style of fantasy and expressionism. Most of Nakita’s art has a story that comes from her soul and the plight of Mother Nature. Nakita has illustrated a children’s book; and her artworks have been exhibited in numerous art galleries, with many now in their new homes abroad in places such as Germany, England, Australia, New Zealand and Holland.
Niki Saunders
Niki became interested in art at a very young age, inspired by her father who painted as a hobby. Born and bred in Zimbabwe, Niki spent the greater part of her childhood in the wild Ume River region of the Zambezi valley where close encounters with wildlife were a daily occurrence. Her crosshatch wildlife portraits span all over the globe. Today her love for the ocean plays a big part in her life as an artist and her acrylic paintings portray the wonderment and beauty of our fast-diminishing marine life.
Purchase tickets to this event: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/212862-silver-mountain-music-festival-2023/#/tickets
Silver Mountain Music Festival full schedule: https://www.silvermountainmusic.co.za/2023-programme.html
Contact curator for any queries about the artwork: linda@gouritz.com