Estate Living Magazine Invest SA - Issue 41 May 2019 | Page 61

g O O d
l i f e
Hefer’s ‘Endangered’ collection of soft
sculptural seats made of recycled, eco-friendly
materials was exhibited at Design Miami/Basel
last year, where it was virtually sold out, while
his giant birds’ nests, woven with Kooboo cane,
have been described as ‘delicious’ by critics.
Under their Dokter and Misses label, Adriaan
Hugo and Katy Taplin’s limited-edition hand-
painted pieces form part of a growing catalogue
of collectible work exhibited in Basel, Dubai,
London, New York and Miami. They exhibit in
New York frequently.
Andile Dyalvane, Designer of the Year for 100%
Design South Africa 2018, whose first solo
exhibition showed in a New York gallery in
2016, has had residencies in Denmark, France,
Taiwan, and the USA including Palo Alto Art
Center in California. He says he relays ‘stories’
in clay where once, as a schoolboy in a small
village in the Eastern Cape, he was ‘lashed’ for
indulging in art. ‘Clay breathes,’ he enthuses
about his medium. ‘It’s alive with becoming and
moves with my energy, listens and holds only
what I’ve impressed upon it – it remembers
and lets go in the fire then becomes stronger.’
SGX, Kate-McLuckie
She says designers like Mnisi, Dokter
and Misses, and Hefer are unique in
that they ‘draw from their own culture
and narrative in a deeply visceral way to
create artworks that are unlike anything
you will see elsewhere in the world.
Their point of view and approach are
confidently African, preserving and
‘The world is hungry for authenticity, rawness,
personal perspectives, emotional connection
and evidence of the human hand – all of which
permeate South African designers’ work.’
Dokter and Misses, Not My Problem
Trevyn McGowan of Southern Guild, a gallery
based in Cape Town’s trendy Silo design hub,
believes the world is more than ready right
now for artists who, she says, are willing ‘to take
risks’.
E
International recognition is not confined to
these big names. There are others, including
artist and furniture designer Atang Tshikare,
who has exhibited in Europe and Dubai;
sculptor Nandipha Mntambo, who has shown
her work in Tel Aviv, Germany, the USA and
Stockholm; visual activist Zanele Muholi;
and world-acclaimed industry heavyweight,
furniture designer John Vogel. But wait. There’s more … McGowan says in this ‘hyper-connected
age’, where it’s easy to lose touch with
what grounds us as humans among
what she terms ‘visual clutter’, South
African artists are ‘continually pushing
the boundaries to create highly personal
work. As a gallery, we have seen the
response of international audiences
escalate over the past 10 years.’
Andile Dyalvane, Adriaan Louw