Enjoy art at La Galleria McGregor where they are exhibiting – SANCTUS – an art project by artist Solly Smook.
The exhibition is described as holy, sacred, consecrated, saint, hallowed, saintly, chaste, venerable.
It will run from December 1 2018 to January 27 2019.
The opening hours are: Saturday – Sunday: 11am to 4pm.
In his works, Smook reconsiders the conventions of portrait painting through a continued pursuit of combining classic portraiture with contemporary techniques, tools and colour. With his goal to produce paintings that engage with matters beyond what is immediately visible, quite often consciously and reflexively questioning the nature of spiritual identity as something deconstructed, created and tangible.
Smook says that he aims for Sanctus to portray The Singularity. “No matter our belief systems, we are all part of One. In the human portrait it is where it is most significantly observed. I find the purpose of creation within the human being. We carry the secrets to the beauty of all. In the portrait I find the quiet landscape. The sunset. The soft whispers of the desert resembled by the lines of the mouth. The eye, containing the vastness of the universe. A deep view into the activity of the quantum world. A still life, portrayed by emotion.”
“With Sanctus I take the opportunity to experiment and play with dogma as subject matter. In the pejorative sense, dogma refers to enforced decisions applied to some strong belief and is often used to refer to matters related to religion, but it is not limited to theistic attitudes alone. For the first time, using a variety of mediums in one exhibition, I regard Sanctus more as an art project without fully discarding my usual technique and subject matter. With monotones and black and white studies using oil and steel wool, I offer a preview to what I think might become more significant techniques in my future work. This project invites the viewer to sanctus. Within or without the borders of dogma” – Solly Smook.
Solly Smook currently resides in Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape, South Africa. Born in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, 1968, matriculated at Jan van Riebeeck High school and studied Graphic design at Cape Technikon. After years in the restaurant trade, Solly became a full-time artist in 2003. With more than 50 very successful group and solo exhibitions his art found its way to various collections all over the globe.
International auctions of his donated work include: The Foundling museum for FoodBank Africa, Amnesty International at Mandela Rhodes, Cape Town and MAD Leadership foundation at the Painter’s Hall in London. 2018 Charities- A Beautiful Mind NPO, MAD Leadership Foundation and Goldilocks & the 3 bears for children with learning disabilities. Magazine and book cover features include – Good Taste Magazine, Kidege, Blick, Arabella Life and, Splash. His work was also featured in the Art Times, The South African Artist, and Contemporary artists of South Africa.
For enquiries contact: [email protected]