PRESS RELEASE
GARY STEPHENS: Tswalu - Muses of the Kalahari
Jul 6 – Sep 28, 2024
In a sense Gary Stephens has come full circle.
For an Arizonan, who’s early work captured the cactus-dotted terrain of his home state, three months spent working in the Kalahari was a natural fit. “It’s certainly been a return to landscape painting”, says Stephens from his base in Johannesburg. “When I was in my twenties, I would go camping in the desert for a week and paint and not talk to anybody. I have found it beautiful to return to the subject matter”, he adds.
Stephens is the latest Everard Read artist to exhibit the work he created while part of the Tswalu Foundation’s Artists in Residence Programme (AiR). For the last few decades, he has been known for the vibrant portraits he creates. Now, Tswalu’s vast expanse of arid savannah, dotted by mighty Shepherd’s Trees and flanked by the Korannaberg mountains, has served as a spark for a new path of artistic endeavour.
Each day while at Tswalu, Stephens struck out on early morning and dusk walks to observe the light change. He watched work being done by environmentalists on adjacent residencies, and above all, made the most of the Northern Cape quiet and space to reflect and explore his craft. The result is a new body of bold landscapes, joyful watercolour studies, contemporary depictions of endemic animals and a series of weavers’ nests. The latter, rendered in a riot of bright tones, take on an abstract quality of galaxy-like swirls.
Stephens’ focus on paint is something he’s relishing. As he says, “when I was painting in the States years ago, I made Fauve-like bright pieces, but then I ended up working with black and white work for years. I think it's bubbling up in me again to return to that that brilliant, colourful world”. And that after all, is the point of a residency. The exposure to new environments and having both the physical and headspace to forge new creative pathways is what is most exciting.
Viewing of this new solo exhibition is by appointment only at Fireblade Aviation, Denel Precinct, Astro Park, Atlas Road, Bonaero Park, Johannesburg.
Kindly email gallery@everard.co.za to arrange a private viewing.
