Archived
Athi-Patra Ruga - Dancing Figure
30 May 2015
Important South African and International Art, Johannesburg, 1 June 2015, Lot 175 Athi-Patra Ruga is as comfortable and thought-provoking expressing his ideas on sexuality, gender, consumerism, race and politics as he is in working through numerous mediums, whether video, photography, performance , interventions or textiles.
Dancing Figure, with its neon orange curlicues and leopard-print loincloth, is a typically playful and engaging example of his work. It featured in the 2012 exhibition ‘Teeth are the only bones that show’ at Ruga’s Cape Town gallery, Whatiftheworld. The work is arresting, tactile and infused with the artist’s unique if infectious sense of humour. The vertical lines of bright pink might evoke a sense of restless energy that brings to mind the artist’s recent revelation that designing tapestries allows him to ‘insert (his) performances into the 2D landscape’.
Ruga, along with other South African performance and video artists like Senzeni Mthwakazi, Arya Lalloo, Thenji Nkosi and Chris Wessels, presented their work at the Johannesburg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale earlier this month. Ruga, conducting carnivalesque figures decked out in brightly-coloured balloons, all part of an ‘absurdist funerary procession’, performed an instalment of the Future White Women of Azania to much excitement and acclaim.
Besides featuring in major local and international collections, Athi-Patra Ruga was included in Phaidon’s seminal and encyclopaedic book Younger than Jesus, which showcased a selection of the world’s best artists under the age of 33. That he featured in what has become an indispensable handbook for curators, collectors, dealers and critics should come as no surprise.
He also hit the headlines last year by becoming the first artist from the African continent to win a major commission from the luxury brand powerhouse, Louis Vuitton. Ruga was chosen to design and produce a 4 by 4 metre tapestry for the façade of the brand’s flagship Champs-Elysées store in Paris. That he was trusted with the company’s global image suggests just how finely he can tread the line between fashionista, trend-setter, performer and contemporary artis
2015 Press Releases
November
- 3 Nov 2015 A Woman of Substance
- 9 Nov 2015 Gold miner shines in bronze
- 9 Nov 2015 Top Ten, 9 November 2015
- 23 Nov 2015 Stephan Welz speaks on the Jewish contribution to cultural life in South Africa
October
- 5 Oct 2015 Property from the Rodwell House Collection
- 5 Oct 2015 Randlord's furniture appears on market 65 years later
- 13 Oct 2015 R2 600 000 for chest of drawers
- 13 Oct 2015 Top Ten, 12 October 2015
- 15 Oct 2015 Van Wouw Dagga Smoker won with ten cent raffle ticket among highlights at Strauss & Co's Johannesburg Auction on 9 November 2015
- 16 Oct 2015 Strauss Summer Auction headlined by rare and exemplary works by Preller, Stern, Kentridge, Pierneef and Van Wouw
September
- 3 Sep 2015 Strauss & Co launches new improved website
- 4 Sep 2015 Ten Cent raffle ticket wins half a million Rand artwork
- 10 Sep 2015 Rare Portrait of Childhood by Peter Clarke at Strauss Auction
- 15 Sep 2015 Strauss Spring Auction Set to Surprise and Delight
- 25 Sep 2015 Erik Laubscher: Toast of the Town
June
- 2 Jun 2015 A record price for & quot kitchen boy" painting
- 2 Jun 2015 Dolly commands millions
- 2 Jun 2015 Sculpture price soars to dizzy heights
May
- 16 May 2015 Alexander Calder - 'Spiral',
- 16 May 2015 Half a Century of Robert Hodgins at Strauss & Co
- 16 May 2015 Jane Alexander - 'Serviceman'
- 16 May 2015 Kees van Dongen - 'Dolly au collier d'argent'
- 16 May 2015 Walter Battiss - 'Untitled'
- 16 May 2015 William Kentridge - 'Shrouded Figure in a Landscape [Taking in the Landscape]'
- 20 May 2015 Modern and contemporary art steals the show at Strauss & Co's June sale
- 28 May 2015 Hello Dolly! Portrait of artist's daughter expected to fetch R4 million
- 30 May 2015 Athi-Patra Ruga - Dancing Figure
April
March
- 6 Mar 2015 Art with Global Appeal at Strauss Auction
- 6 Mar 2015 Kimberley Diamond Rush Brooch to benefit Save the Children Fund
- 6 Mar 2015 Pierneef Painting that Launched Cultural Movement Headlines Strauss Auction
- 6 Mar 2015 The Arch Flies Again
- 7 Mar 2015 Preller's Mapogga Wedding at Strauss & Co
- 9 Mar 2015 Harvey Collection Celebrates South African History
- 9 Mar 2015 Mapogga Blissful Nuptials at Strauss & Co Auction
- 9 Mar 2015 Top Notch Tretchi Shines at Strauss & Co Auction
- 10 Mar 2015 Artist and Son Reunited
- 10 Mar 2015 Hodgins' Favourite Scheduled for Strauss & Co Auction
- 11 Mar 2015 JH Pierneef - Master of the Medium
- 18 Mar 2015 Strauss & Co Top 10 Results for 16 March 2015 Auction
- 20 Mar 2015 Strauss & Co reaffirms its global supremacy in the South African art market
- 20 Mar 2015 Tutu sculpture sells for over R850 000 at Strauss & Co auction
February
- 3 Feb 2015 Chairman's Report, 2014
January
