Sculpted Narratives: Exploring the malleable qualities of ceramic art

10 Jul 2024

“Sculpted Narratives is our second sale dedicated to ceramic art in South Africa and follows in the wake of our highly successful auction Contemporary South African Ceramics in 2020,” says Wilhelm van Rensburg, Senior Art Specialist and Head Curator. “As is suggested by the auction’s title, Sculpted Narratives focuses on the sculptural nature of ceramic art and marks a shift in emphasis from the well-known and loved Anglo-Oriental ceramic styles practised in South Africa in especially the 1960s and 70s.”

The sale acknowledges the centrality of Pretoria in the story of South African art. The catalogue for Sculpted Narratives includes three gorgeous painted tiles – one depicting purple crested loeries – by the doyen of ceramics, Esias Bosch, who lived and worked in Pretoria from 1955 to 1960. It also includes a rare vase by Walter Battiss (estimate R25 000 – 35 000), as well as a fired-clay sculpture by Robert Hodgins titled The Senator from North Carolina (estimate R50 000 – 70 000). A resident of Pretoria in the 1950s and 60s, Hodgins regularly commuted to a studio in Pretoria in the 1990s and 2000s to work on ceramic pieces.

Adds Wilhelm van Rensburg: “The impetus for the shift to sculpted ceramics can be traced back to American ceramic artist David Middlebrook’s visit to South Africa in 1982-83, as well as the avant-garde teaching of Suzette Munnik at Technikon Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in the late 1980s. This period also saw the advent of the world-famous Ardmore Ceramic Art Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, whose studio output is characterised by its strong sculptural iconography.”

Sculpted Narratives includes work by first generation Ardmore artists, notably a 1992 teapot with jackal and flower motif by Bonnie Ntshalintshali (estimate R12 000 – 15 000), as well as two zoomorphic figures by Josephine Ghesa, another first-generation Ardmore luminary. The sale also includes pieces by second-generation Ardmore artists produced in the last two decades that derive from the single-owner collection of the late Ambassador Lindiwe Mabuza. A distinguished politician, diplomat and scholar, Mabuza was instrumental in popularising Ardmore internationally during her postings in Germany, Malaysia, United Kingdom and United States. 

The preview exhibition of the sale Sculpted Narratives will be hosted at Strauss & Co, Johannesburg(Wilhelm van Rensburg, Senior Art Specialist and Head Curator at Strauss & Co, will present a public talk titled “Sculpted Narratives: Contemporary South African Ceramics” at Strauss & Co, Johannesburg, on Tuesday, 16 July 2024, at 6pm.

Activities will then move to Pretoria, to Pierneef’s Kraal Guest Lodge. Strauss & Co will host apreview of a selection of art highlights from the Pretoria Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art on Friday, 19 and Saturday, 20 July and two walkabouts of the exhibition at 11am and 3pm and will include a walkabout of Pierneef’s Kraal.

Two auctions will take place at Pierneef’s Kraal Guest Lodge on Sunday 21 July at 10am: Sculpted Narratives w followed by the Pretoria Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art at 12pm.

The diverse range of work included in Sculpted Narratives acknowledges the profound shifts in themaking and appreciation of ceramic art since art historian F.E.G. Nilant, writing in the 1960s, set out to define the idea of a contemporary tradition of ceramics in South Africa. Nilant highlighted the rise of commercial ceramic factories, such as Continental China in Boksburg, as well as the proliferation of small-scale potteries, including Cullinan Refractories, producer of Linnware in the 1940s and 50s, and Boksburg East Potteries, maker of Lucia Ware in the 1960s. 

Sculpted Narratives includes two studios listed by Nilant lists: Kalahari Studio and the ceramic department of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Arts and Crafts Centre at Rorke’s Drift. Nilant also intimated the rise of ceramic artists setting up individual studios in the 1960s and 70s. Well-known ceramic artists from this group include Esias Bosch, Alice Heysteck, Tim Morris, Andrew Walfordand David Walters, who are all represented in the catalogue for Sculpted Narratives.

A special feature of the sale centres on legacy vessels by the illustrious Nala family: from matriarch Nesta Nala, who is represented by three pit-fired and burnished earthenware pieces, to ceremonial pots by Jabulile Nala and Zanele Nala. The influence of the Nala family is considerable on contemporary practitioners like Ian Garrett, whose master’s thesis focused on the work of Nesta Nala. Garrett is represented by the burnished pot Reflection (estimate R50 000 – 60 000). 

Andile Dyalvane is at the apex of a new wave of sculptural ceramics and is represented in the sale by a scarified conical vessel (estimate R60 000 – 80 000). Other well-known contemporary sculptors include Frances Goodman and Eugene Hön. The catalogue for Sculpted Narratives also includes ceramic work by “ultra-contemporary” artists – a category used to refer to artworks made by artists under 40 years old – like Hannah Massey and Mpho Mokgatlhe, as well as Joy Mwali, Mellaney Roberts and Amo Maepa, all graduates of the Tshwane University of Technology ceramic department.

Sculpted Narratives and Pretoria Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art

PREVIEWS/WALKABOUTS/TALK/LIVE VIRTUAL AUCTIONS

JOHANNESBURG – STRAUSS & CO – 89 Central Street, Houghton

PREVIEW: 
Sculpted Narratives &
Pretoria Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art
Monday 15 – Saturday 20 July 2024, 9am to 4pm