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Patrick Bongoy in 'Casted' at the Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch
19 Dec 2023 (3 min) read
Bongoy's woven rubber works sit in conversation with bronze sculpture by mid-20th-century Modernist artists.
Three works by sculptor Patrick Bongoy are currently part of CASTED: Scultura Italiana, at the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch until 28 January 2024. The exhibition positions works by Bongoy and South African sculptor Jake Singer in conversation with mid-20th-century Modernist sculpture by Italian artists including Franco Garelli, Guliutte Scalinithe, Luciano Minguzzi, Augusto Perez, Francesco Somaini, Basaldella Mirko, Berto Lardera, Pietro Cascella, Marcello Mascherini, Quinto Ghermandi, Giacomo Benevelli and others.
The nearly 30 sculptures by 16 artists, though vastly different in appearance, share a commonality in their approach to materiality, and although several of these artists were and are accomplished multi-disciplinary artists, they each have a love for sculpture.
Even though both Bongoy and Singer employ the use of very different materials and application thereof, the unifying factor is how texture remains at the forefront of each of their individual practices. Singer’s use of thousands of stainless-steel rods of varying lengths to create a ‘coat of feathers’ is contrasted by Bongoy’s choice of recycled, upcycled rubber and inner tubes transformed into layered abstract yet metaphoric tapestries through delicate cuts, braids and weaving techniques.
With the Italians’ experimentation and expressive mark-making, the aesthetics of the surfaces are foregrounded yet juxtaposed with the contemporary artists. Harmony and commonality is then found with the wing-shaped forms that echo throughout the space, representative of freedom and flight.
Even though both Bongoy and Singer employ very different materials and applications thereof, the unifying factor is how texture remains at the forefront of each of their individual practices. Singer’s use of thousands of stainless-steel rods of varying lengths to create a ‘coat of feathers’ is contrasted by Bongoy’s choice of recycled, upcycled rubber and inner tubes transformed into layered abstract yet metaphoric tapestries through delicate cuts, braids and weaving techniques.
