Nel Erasmus: Portraits 1949-2009

03 Oct 2009 - 30 Nov 2009

Nel Erasmus is primarily known as an Abstract artist, therefore the current exhibition; Nel Erasmus: Portraits (1949 – 2009), which features twenty-one portraits created over a period of six decades, offers new perspectives and insight into the career of this important artist.

The exhibition shows how Erasmus has gradually expanded the repertoire of portraiture in new directions. Less concerned to depict the visual appearance of the subject, Erasmus is inspired by admiration or affection for the subject. The faces are naturalistically painted in an attempt to delve below the surface and to show something subtle and intimate. As a result they evoke a vast spectrum of emotions, sentiments and thoughts.

Born in Bethal, in 1928, Nel Erasmus completed a BA FA degree at Wits University from 1946-1950, and went on to receive a National Art Teacher’s Certificate from Wits Tech in 1951. During 1953-1955 she furthered her art training in Paris at the Ecole Nationale Supereure de Beaux-Arts and the famous Academie Ranson (later Studio 17).

A former Director of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (1964 – 1977), Nel Erasmus achieved substantial success as a painter in South Africa and abroad. She was the only South African artist whose work was included in Michael Seuphor’s exhaustive survey of abstraction: Abstract Painting ~ 50 Years of Accomplishment, from Kandinsky to the Present, published in 1962. Her works are characterized by an adventurous analysis of forms, a concern for abstract relationships and an acute understanding of mood and perspective in composition. 

According to the artist, who celebrated her eightieth birthday last year, these faces represent the journey all people undertake in life and this body of work as a whole represents the confluence of decades of introspection and exploration.

Gallery