PRESS RELEASE
@ERG - KILMANY-JO LIVERSAGE: CHROMA718
Jun 14 – Jul 14, 2018
CHROMA718
KILMANY-JO LIVERSAGE
EVERARD READ GALLERY
14TH JUNE – 14TH JULY 2018
CHROMA
noun
- the purity of a colour, or its freedom from white or grey.
- intensity of distinctive hue; saturation of a colour.
In an effort to challenge the perception of modern day womxn, Kilmany-Jo Liversage will be presenting a collection of paintings at Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, titled CHROMA718 .
This latest body of work by Liversage presents work created in the period leading up to the month of June (07) of 2018(18). Liversage’s collection features her signature highly textured, bright and brazen colour applications, and use of urban materials related to street art and urban environments. Her female subjects are meant to challenge the viewer and are represented in such a way as to represent a subtle form of activism on gender based issues in South Africa. CHROMA718 represents the contemporary female subject as a celebrated, powerful being. Her subject matter is sourced from social media platforms, thus referencing today’s youth and their interests, and contemporary pop culture.
CHROMA718 represents Liversage’s intimate relationship with her alter ego and street name “Orda”. This symbiotic relationship allows her to investigate the parallels between street art painting and academic painting (in the studio), allowing the two to co-exist in her process.
Liversage, now based in Cape Town, was born in the Free State in 1973. She uses spray paint, acrylics, and mixed media to challenge the traditional definitions of Fine Art versus Urban Art Culture. Her female subjects are inspired by Renaissance era portraiture, whilst referencing digitised mass production and a futuristic post-human world, populated by perfect-looking female cyborgs. The result is brightly coloured paintings, evoking the street, art history and the future.
“My subject matter is primarily female as I feel strongly about the role womxn play in our society and I specifically portray the strength and Femme fatalism of womxn in my portraits to evoke those feelings within the viewer. I think this is important in the face of abuse of womxn and children, which is a big social problem in South Africa. The fact that I’m making murals on the streets allows me to interact with the everyday person visually or through conversation. I leave with the knowledge that my artwork will be seen by people who have possibly never visited a gallery before…..and that is awesome” –Liversage.
