The Irma Stern Trust, in partnership with Greatmore Street Studios in Woodstock, is showing a selection of work from local artists as a winter 2010 exhibition. Greatmore Street Studios provides artists, both South African and international, with subsidized studio space for arts projects and residencies. Local and visiting artists are encouraged to interact and exchange skills, experiences and ideas while at the same time making their own art.
The work for this exhibition has been selected from a variety of South African artists who have worked in the studios at some stage during the last decade. As the expertise, experience and competencies of these artists vary and as their motivations, techniques and ultimate objectives are by no means uniform, the resultant artworks are diverse and embrace many different themes and topics.Some artists have academic backgrounds, while others are self-taught. Some are experimenting with a range of techniques and artistic media, while others are steadfast in their pursuit of a specially chosen medium and stye. Some have access to resources on various levels while others are more restricted in the availability of materials. Some are producing a body of work with a view to an exhibition while others are immersed in the process of creating for its own sake.
The end result in this case is a broad spectrum of works, both figurative and abstract, which, not confined by a specific brief, bear witness to the energy and commitment of those fortunate enough to have been granted the freedom to work in a non-threatening and supportive environment which is the embodiment of Greatmore Street Studios itself.
