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‘DENCITY’

Opening Tuesday 14th June 2011 @ 18h30

Resolution Gallery is proud to present ‘DENCITY’, a collaborative exhibition by André Clements and Daniel Hirschmann.

Using their home cities of Johannesburg and London as inspiration and subject matter, the artists have created a series of works that are algorithmic cityscapes interpreting the ebb and flow of two rapidly growing habitats. Both cities have experienced aggressive expansion, swallowing their surroundings, leaving echoes of what came before.

Clements and Hirschmann have each programmed and built their own tools and techniques that capture and then portray these urban spaces. The images often transform elements of architecture while highlighting the fluidity of the city.

Stylistically the exhibition blends digital image manipulation technology with artistic paradigms such as cubism, painterly abstraction and post-abstract expressionism. The artists intend this as an integration, rather than mere combination, of elements and influences.

‘DENCITY’ will be opened by Professor Christo Doherty (Head of Digital Arts, Wits University) and runs from 14th June until 13th August 2011 at Resolution Gallery, Unit 4, 142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa.

For futher information contact:

Resolution Gallery, www.resolutiongallery.com, info@resolutiongallery.com, +27 (0)11 880 4054

André Clements, www.andresclements.com, andresclements@gmail.com, +27 (0)82 869 0564

Daniel Hirshmann, www.danielhirschmann.com, d@danielhirschmann.com, +44 77 2628 7484

With much excitement I invite you to the opening of DENCITY, a collaborative two-person digital fine art exhibition featuring works by yours truly and London based Daniel Hirshmann.

Kind Regards

André

DENCITY

Opening Tuesday 14th June 2011 @ 18h30

Resolution Gallery is proud to present ‘DENCITY’, a collaborative exhibition by André Clements and Daniel Hirschmann.

Using their home cities of Johannesburg and London as inspiration and subject matter, the artists have created a series of works that are algorithmic cityscapes interpreting the ebb and flow of two rapidly growing habitats. Both cities have experienced aggressive expansion, swallowing their surroundings, leaving echoes of what came before.

Clements and Hirschmann have each programmed and built their own tools and techniques that capture and then portray these urban spaces. The images often transform elements of architecture while highlighting the fluidity of the city.

Stylistically the exhibition blends digital image manipulation technology with artistic paradigms such as cubism, painterly abstraction and post-abstract expressionism. The artists intend this as an integration, rather than mere combination, of elements and influences.

‘DENCITY’ will be opened by Professor Christo Doherty (Head of Digital Arts, Wits University) and runs from 14th June until 13th August 2011 at Resolution Gallery, Unit 4, 142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa.

For further information contact:

Resolution Gallery, www.resolutiongallery.com, info@resolutiongallery.com, +27 (0)11 880 4054
André Clements, www.andresclements.com, andresclements@gmail.com, +27 (0)82 869 0564
Daniel Hirshmann, www.danielhirschmann.com, d@danielhirschmann.com, +44 77 2628 7484

When
Tue Jun 14 6:30pm – 9:30pm Johannesburg
Where
Resolution Gallery, 142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Chester Court, Unit 4, Parkwood, 2193 Johannesburg (map)

Quirky Pretoria fine art project continues with innovative exhibition running from 3 September to 17 October 2010

Pretoria – 3 September 2010 sees the opening of an exhibition of works by a diverse group of visual artists. Art critic and journalist Johan Myburg will open the exhibition, complemented by a performance by the Rynier Prins Jazz Trio.

The unusual house which serves as the exhibition venue is slated for demolition (to offer its spectacular views of Pretoria to newer developments), but has found an unexpected last gasp as a vibrant cultural hub.

“It is as if this house is summoning people, interesting people, for a kind of grand finale.” said Artist and curator Melanie de Bruyn. De Bruyn heads up the collaborative project known as the Pandora Art House which re-appropriates ‘dead-man-walking’ houses.

The house, once the setting of high society soirées, was pieced together in the 1940′s by an eccentric businessman with an eye for salvaging interesting items on auction. A bar that used to be the pride of Nedbank’s head office, and bricks that once formed the oven of the old Cullinan brick yard are just two of the house’s components. The end result has an evocative ambiance somewhere between nostalgia and peculiarity. In addition to the exhibition the house currently hosts exotic dinners, art movies and musical performances, as well as many an animated discussion that rages into the early morning hours.

Among the established artists whose work will be on display are André S Clements, Anna-Lynne E Marais, Francois Breytenbach, Jaques Wolmarans, Laurens Barnard and Retha Buitendach.

The exhibition deliberately circumvents a central theme and borrows its title from an interview by Giulio Giorelli with renowned American philosopher, Daniel Dennett. The interview was published with the headline “Sì, abbiamo un’anima. ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot – “Yes, we have a soul, but it’s made of lots of tiny robots.” In his book ‘Freedom Evolves’, Dennet deals with the apparent tension between determinism and free will. Similarly the exhibition attempts to reconcile an eclectic mixture of art ranging from conventional portraiture to meticulously constructed insect sculptures and post-digital painterly abstractions.

The collaborative nature of the project offers participating artists an unusual degree of creative freedom and involvement, also in the organization of physical space. Instead of the artists having to subject themselves to a theme, the exhibition has found an identity emerging from the interactions of the artists and the aesthetic confrontation of the juxta-positioning of their respective works.

“The artists participating in this exhibition have not perpetrated academic discourse on the topic of souls, or tiny robots. Any apparent coherence between the various works on display – whether of style, subject matter, ethos, aesthetic or any other parameter – is coincidental…” smiles participating artist André Clements.

Interested parties are welcome to contact Melanie de Bruyn on 084 997 3903, pandora.art1@gmail.com or visit www.pan-dora.co.za

An Exhibition of Art by
André S Clements
Anna-Lynne E Marais
Chevon Wessels
Francois Breytenbach
Jaques Wolmarans
Jason M Jensma
Laurens Barnard
Retha Buitendach
Rynier Prins

Join us for the opening by Johan Myburg on 3 September at 18:00 for 18:30 with the Rynier Prins Jazz Trio.
Contact:
Melanie de Bruyn
084 997 3903
pandora.art1@gmail.com
www.pan-dora.co.za

* The exhibition title is borrowed from Daniel C. Dennett (Freedom Evolves 2004). Dennet was interviewed by an Italian journalist Giulio Giorelli, and the interview came out with the headline “Sì, abbiamo un’anima. Ma è fatta di tanti piccoli robot – “Yes, we have a soul, but it’s made of lots of tiny robots.” Dennet’s comment was:”…exactly. That’s the view. Yes, we have a soul, but in what sense?’

** The exhibition’s title is not intended as a ‘theme’: the artists participating in this exhibition have not perpetrated academic discourse on this topic. Any apparent coherence between the various works on display – whether of interplay of style, subject matter, ethos, aesthetic or any other parameter – is coincidental. It is possible that such coincidences may result from the resonance of those magical moments of inspiration, emergence and resolution that artists pursue (or ambush and bludgeon into submission) .

a series called ‘Testament’

So far it contains:

* ‘Temple’, an average of satellite imagery the 15 largest sports stadia around the world.
* ‘Deaconry’, from photographs returned for the search term ‘national team’
* ‘Congregation’ from photographs returned for the search term ‘fans’

I’m working on an instalment in the series, titled ‘Cheribium’.

Etymologically, the religious use of the word ‘testament’ in for the compiled Christian scriptures is based on a 13th century mistranslation.

from Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas, The photo edit I call ‘Charisma’ from a potential series called ‘Scraps’ (its something about inter-textual mortality),

rom Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas, via my usual post-digital painterly abstraction method, medium = Google on PSD

I have a fresh batch of limited edition Lambda prints available including this piece titled Rockey st.

A digital compression study of 5 adjoining corners of Rockey street, Yeoville in its present guise.

Edition of 5, print size 570 x 750 at 200dpi on Kodak Endura. Enquire via andre@pixelplexus.co.za

André SC a.k.a. Clem a.k.a. André S Clements

From Pretoria, 1973. Studied at University of Pretoria, BA in Information Design then some odds and ends through UNISA, including Computer Science and Industrial Psycology etc. Been a designer, prostitute chauffeur, lecturer, webmaster, consultant, virtual artist and more. Currently employed as Information Systems Architect for ForgeBusiness.

Lives on the border of Yeoville and Observatory, Johannesburg.

check out andre sc’s own blog here