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Strauss & Co at the Stellenbosch Woordfees, 6-15 March 2020 & 9 A Sophisticated Cultural Presence

27 Jan 2020

Joining the art critic and writer Sean O’Toole for this interview on Tuesday, March 10, at the stately town hall, Kilbourn makes a strong case for the love, understanding and, yes, investment in talent and the good art of our time and our continent.

This morning talk is one of a number of events the esteemed auction house is bringing to this year’s culture fest. With the company’s recent venturing into high-end auction wine, its presence also includes a seminar by a vinous expert, and a convivial dinner that brings it all together.

In what can appreciatively be described as a sophisticated high-visible presence at the 20^th Toyota SU Woordfees, Strauss & Co is hosting select exhibitions in the beautiful and historic Morkel House in Van Ryneveld Street, at the town hall and at the Rupert Museum

Highlights of important Post-war, modern and contemporary art to be auctioned in Cape Town at the end of the month are on view at Morkel House and the Rupert Museum.

These peep-eye previews are matched by a range of art works from the March  online sale on show at the auction house hub in the town hall. Experts around at the venues will talk art, assets and other suitable pleasantries.

The latter includes the delightful discovery that one of your inherited art works may be worth a fortune. On the Woordfees afternoons of Tuesday and Thursday, March 10 & 12, company professionals will be at hand to do valuations at the Rupert Museum. Walkabouts with Matthew Partridge and Alastair Meredith focus on Irma Stern, the museum’s glorious Pierneef Station Panels.

Talks fit in nicely with the pop-up exhibitions – as well as with the on-going Stellenbosch Triennale which Strauss & Co also officially supports.

An appropriate ‘African note’ – the basic theme of the Stellenbosch Triennale which runs from 11 February to 30 April, – launches the Woordfees lecture programme when Strauss & Co Senior art specialist Wilhelm van Rensburg considers contemporary African art in an international context. Given the wide interest, his talk, tracing the unique aesthetics of current African art, is a must.

Vanessa Phillips, the company’s joint managing director, joins decorative arts specialist Sophie-Louise Fröhlich at Morkel House, to shed light on what is happening in the current market.

Later Strauss & Co’s other joint MD, Bina Genovese, will lift the veil on ‘The A-Z of Auctioneering’. It should be fascinating for those of us who want to know, for example, how an estimate of value is reached.

In the world of wine, ‘value’ is very much a talking point around in this old wine-producing region.

Frank Kilbourn, a wine lover (a wine producer himself), has led Strauss & Co to initiate auctions of the finest vintages in partnership with Cape Town’s Wine Cellar company. And so it’s a given that the house’s cultural presence at the 2020 Woordfees includes a toast or two to the vine and its heritage.

Roland Peens, the knowledgeable director of Wine Cellar, will discuss why South Africa is regarded as the most exciting wine producing country. Can our finest be regarded as trading assets? Find out on the Friday.

Of course, the proof of it all is in the experience, and so it is fitting that Morkel House, with its enchanting interior and walls lined with art, hosts a festive dinner. Heritage-heavy wines as well as so-called ‘young guns’ will be poured and enjoyed.

Toasts all round for Strauss & Co’s first-time full-blown official presence at the Woordfees will be raised. Yet from a cultural point-of-view this ‘investment’ in the current buzz of talent, even here in Stellenbosch, makes sense. Strauss & Co Director Caro Wiese, longtime supporter of the arts and pioneer of Strauss & Co’s involvement in the Woordfees says: “I am delighted that Strauss & Co is participating in the South Africa’s top cultural festival and am very much looking forward to an informative and enriching week”.

The company has placed its name to the Stellenbosch Triennale exhibition ‘From the Vault’. Showcasing work in university collections, it accentuates the value of enduring art – the kind that the house auctions to collectors.

At the same time, its presence at the vibrant, youthfully-exciting Woordfees signals a contemporary finger on the pulse of the worthwhile and the talented.

Under Kilbourn, Strauss & Co has reached out even further in numerous ways to educate and enlighten people about the arts. Over the years the company has presented and sponsored lectures, workshops, and important artworks coming to auction are researched and notated by experts. The public gets to see and to be informed. Walkabouts, lectures and fine catalogues are de rigueur.

From when he joined, Frank Kilbourn’s mantra has been: ‘art is to be shared’.  As a keen and informed collector, he often shows in public work from his collection. This sharing motto is also lived out in the auction house’s business model – motivating its high-profile presence at cultural events like the Woordfees.

Kilbourn has staked Strauss & Co’s mission as one to promote, educate and support – and to influence what he calls the ‘art ecosystem’.

“We have a duty to plough back, to cultivate new generations of art lovers, aspirant and new collectors and to create space for young and contemporary artists within the auction environment.”

There is nothing that the executive chairperson enjoys more than being in and of the art world. So when he joins the dialogue with the festival artist on that autumn Tuesday, he’ll know what to say, what to ask. After all, he is a long-time fan of Gerhard Marx’s engaging art.

Dates to diarise:

LECTURES AND TALKS

Contemporary African Art

Lecture conducted by Wilhelm van Rensburg, Senior Art Specialist, Strauss & Co

Monday 9 March, 11.30 am | Venue: Stellenbosch Townhall

In Conversation with Gerard Marx:
Sean O’ Toole, Art Critic and writer, Gerhard Marx, Artist (this year’s festival artist) and Frank Kilbourn, Chairperson Strauss & Co, Art Collector

Tuesday 10 March, 11.30 am | Venue: Stellenbosch Townhall

The Decorative Arts, a journey for beginners and collectors
Lecture conducted by Vanessa Phillips, Joint MD and Senior Decorative Arts Specialist Strauss & Co; and Sophie-Louise Fröhlich, Decorative Arts Specialist, Strauss & Co

Wednesday 11 March, 11.30 am | Venue: Morkel House

The A-Z of Auctioneering
Lecture and mock auction conducted by Bina Genovese, Joint MD Strauss & Co and colleagues

Thursday 12 March, 11.30 am | Venue: Stellenbosch Townhall

Where is South Africa in the world of fine wine?
Lecture conducted by Roland Peens, Director of Winecellar.co.za & Strauss & Co
Senior Wine Specialist

Fri 13 March, 11.30 am | Venue: Stellenbosch Townhall

Cost: R20 for online bookings through Computicket | R40 to purchase tickets at the door

Enquiries:

021 683 6560

www.straussart.co.za | www.woordfees.co.za

WALKABOUTS

Irma Stern, conducted by Matthew Partridge, Strauss & Co Contemporary Art Specialist

Tuesday 10 March, at 12.30 pm | Venue: Rupert Museum

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, conducted by Dr Alastair Meredith, Strauss & Co Senior Art Specialist

Thursday 12 March, at 12.30 pm| Venue: Rupert Museum

VALUATION DAYS

Would you like to know the value of your art and decorative arts?

Strauss & Co specialists would be delighted to assist you.

Tuesday 10 March and Thursday 12 March, from 1 pm to 5 pm | Venue: Rupert Museum

To book an obligation-free appointment, please call 021 683 6560 or contact jean@straussart.co.za (art)

Sophie-Louise@straussart.co.za (decorative arts)

DINNER AND FINE WINE

Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions partner Roland Peens of WineCellar.co.za to present South Africa’s greatest wines from yesteryear and the rising stars of today. Enjoy a 3-course dinner paired with the likes of Kanonkop, Boekenhoustkloof, Sadie Family and Alheit Family Vineyards.

Thursday 12 March, 6.30 pm | Venue: Morkel House

R1500 per person

Enquiries:  sarah@straussart.co.za