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Group show - Solace
Group show - Solace
Group show - Solace
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Solace

Group show

Cape Town
19 October - 4 December 2020

Solace is an invitation to re-conceive within an historic moment of global pause. For some, a formative time of focus and concentration. For others, a poignant statement of loss and perseverance. For all, a crucible of creativity, propelling their practice forwards in unexpected ways.

Group show - Solace
Group show - Solace
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Southern Guild presents Solace, a group show launching all new work by more than 20 of its artists. Having opened its doors again in early October, the gallery eagerly presents its first physical exhibition since the country implemented its nationwide lockdown in response to the global pandemic.

For Solace, Southern Guild invited its artists to create a stand-alone work inspired by this unprecedented period in our history or to contemplate a new beginning or direction for a body of work. All the pieces in this show have been made during lockdown, sometimes under difficult or restricted circumstances that saw the artists move into their studios or set up makeshift workspaces at home.

The challenges presented an opportunity to rethink their approach, work on a different scale or experiment with new materials. For many this has been a formative time of focus and concentration, propelling their practice forwards in unexpected ways. Despite the fear and fragility that many face, the pandemic has also been a crucible of creativity.

Group show - Solace

For Solace, sculptor Stanislaw Trzebinski veered away from his usual material of bronze to design an intriguing 3D-printed chair resembling a piece of washed-up red coral, while artist-blacksmith Conrad Hicks hand-forged a copper sculpture containing a light source that is both innovative and primal in its design. Multiple designers ventured into pure formality, including Gregor Jenkin, Meyer von Wielligh and Xandre Kriel.

Assemblage artist and sculptor Philippe Bousquet has crafted a throne-like chair constructed from existing sculptures, abstract artworks, precious stones, and a myriad of other found objects and treasures that he has collected over the years. A coherent, self-contained piece as well as a complete exhibition in itself, it envelops the sitter like an exoskeleton or “exospirit”. Bousquet’s throne is a poignant statement of loss and perseverance, a tribute to the indomitable human spirit of creativity.