17th Jul, 2017 17:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
163
Joachim Schönfeldt (South Africa 1958-)
The Surgeon
carved wood and oil paint
Signature details: signed and inscribed with the title
carved wood and oil paint
Signature details: signed and inscribed with the title
(1)
143.5 x 55 x 46 cm
Notes:
The biblical prophet Ezekiel conjures up an astonishing vision of a chariot, with the traditional four apocryphal creatures populating it: the lion, the ox, the eagle and the man. This vision is described in such rich ambiguity that it is difficult to visualise the different aspects to these four-headed creatures with human hands, and wings, each moving straight forward. In 1992, Joachim Schönfeldt, who was born in Pretoria and raised in Windhoek, Namibia, created this extraordinary three-headed cow which, on many levels, engages the mystique and solemnity of Ezekiel’s vision, as each head proudly peers in a different direction.This was also the work that established a reference point for Schönfeldt’s oeuvre, and even though he was one of the artist founders of the Bag Factory Artists Studio in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, and earned his stripes as an artist working on paper and with prints, he arguably remains most well-known for his three-headed cows. The Surgeon, first exhibited in the then Newtown Galleries in 1992 under the curatorial aegis of Ricky Burnett, is the prototype of this approach.Blending empathy with Pan African visual traditions and religious practises, a sense of quirky humour and a deep, resonant reflection on the African traditions with which Schönfeldt cut his proverbial teeth (he spent time working in the Meneghelli collection of African art as a young man), the work retains its iconic status.The sculpture is surprisingly modest in size, given the monumental relationship between the blue painted heads of the cows and their collective body. Effectively, the potency of this work, standing serenely on a painted plinth as it does, points clearly in the direction of many further works made in this vein, in a wide variety of techniques, from cast bronze to deep etched intaglio.
Robyn Sassen
Sources:
Bio: Robyn Sassen is a Johannesburg-based art critic. She holds degrees from Wits University and Unisa. A freelance writer for several national publications, she runs a website dedicated to reviews of the arts: www.robynsassenmyview.com
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Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 17th Jul, 2017
Aspire Art Auctions’ second Johannesburg sale offered a selection of some of the best works produced by local and international artists available on the local market. Offerings included Cameroonian-born, Belgium-based, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Chilean, Eugenio Dittborn, and South Africans, William Kentridge, Kendell Geers, Louis Maqhubela, Cecil Skotnes, Maggie Laubser, Irma Stern, and Mohau Modisakeng, amongst others.
The sale was led by an international auction record of R1 200 320 achieved for a drawing, Children under Apartheid, by exiled South African artist Dumile Feni, as well as the successful sale of top international lot Golden Mask by renowned performance artist Marina Abramović.
Viewing
Friday 14 July 2017 | 10 am – 7 pm
Saturday 15 July 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 16 July 2017 | 10 am – 4 pm
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