Artists

Alexander Podlashuc enrolled at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Arts at the age of 16 where he was mentored by Edward Roworth and Melvin Simmers. When the artist was expelled from the school, he went on to study at the Continental School of Art under Maurice van Essche. In 1948, Podlaschuc continued his studies in London at the Central School of Art after which he worked as a cartoonist for Punch Magazine and was commissioned as a portrait painter. The artist returned to South Africa in 1954 to work as a graphic artist at the Pretoria News. The following year, he moved to Bloemfontein where he met and married Marianne, who was also an artist. In 1958, the couple joined fellow artists Frans Clarehout, Reneé le Roux, and Eben van der Merwe in establishing the Bloemfontein Group. He accepted a lecturer position at the graphic department at the Port Elizabeth Technikon School of Art and Design in 1964, where he later became the head of the department. In 1990, the Podlashucs retired to Cape Town where they continued to participate in joint exhibitions of their work. His affinity for British Modernism, coupled with his foundation in graphic art is evident in Podlashuc’s artworks with its strong interplay of graphic and painterly qualities.

Image courtesy H. J. Strydom.