East meets Paarl artist
2008-05-22
AS part of the second phase of a Chinese cultural exchange programme, Paarl artist, Shany van den Berg, left for China last week to attend workshops and to gather inspiration for an exhibition to be held later his year in Cape Town. She will be spending two weeks with a fellow female artist, Wang Quingli from the Hubei Institute of Fine Art, the third largest art institution in China, sharing knowledge and gathering inspiration for new creative works boasting a unique Chinese influence. Hubei Province is located in central China and the area boasts a thousand pristine lakes. Both artists will showcase their individual works, as well as two collaborative pieces, in an east-meets-west exhibition to be held at Cape Town’s Everard Read Gallery from 20 November to 4 December 2008. As the brain-child of Chinese business- man, Dabing Chen, who now resides in Cape Town, this cultural exchange programme was first initiated in 2006 in an effort to bridge the void in understanding between the Chinese and South African cultures. “I am very excited about taking part in this programme and particularly looking forward to exploring artworks like the Terracotta Army, pieces which portray the warrior symbol, as this is a symbol which is so often reflected in my work,” she says. Well-known for her unique oil paintings and multimedia works in perspex, linen and paper, a part-time ceramics course studied at the Paarl College from 1982 to 1985, as well as a life drawing and painting course undertaken part-time at the Ruth Prowse School of Art from 1990 to 1992, heralded the beginning of van den Berg’s outstanding career as a full-time artist. Having been showcased in numerous galleries and private collections both locally and abroad, van den Berg’s ethereal, sensitive oil paintings and artwork are said to capture a mood reminiscent of contemporary mannerism and romanticism with a strong focus on womanhood. She masterfully communicates multilayered emotions, ideas and modern concepts with a classical approach to portraiture and captures these ideas with a meticulous attention to detail, simplicity, and subtle symbolism. Price-tags in this second cultural exhibition at Cape Town’s Everard Read Gallery are expected to range from R10 000 to R100 000.
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