Art Rooted in Nature: Day Sale
Timed Online Auction, 7 - 25 June 2024
Art Rooted in Nature
About the SessionSouth African artists have long drawn inspiration from the earth, capturing the beauty and complexity of flora and landscapes, with their works. The selection for sale emphasises themes of both human and non-human elements in nature, reflecting a profound connection to the environment.
This auction showcases a rich artwork medley that delves into the intricate relationship between the natural world and artistic expression. Featuring botanical depictions, landscapes, coastal scenes, floral still lifes and garden scenes in the Cape and beyond, the sale highlights the enduring relevance of nature in art, especially in the context of contemporary ecological concerns.
This auction celebrates the harmony between scientific precision and artistic creativity, making a compelling case for the ongoing relevance of depicting nature.
Running from 7 to 25 June to coincide with the Hermanus Fynarts Festival 2024, the Strauss & Co auction aims to complement the festival’s vibrant celebration of creativity in all its forms.
About this Item
Notes
"These brand names, logos, and symbols of commodity culture are less frivolous than they may be read to be, as they are - not only in Paulsen's work, but inside of a generational understanding of their symbolism-signifiers of a much larger culture of meta-ironic, concurrently self-aggrandising and self-deprecating aspirations for leisure and luxury in the context of an increasingly unstable social, political landscape." —M Thesen Law, 20141
This lot appeared on Jody Paulsen’s debut solo exhibition, Pushing Thirty, a vivid showcase of his maximalist approach to composition that included 21 of his signature felt collages. A method perfected at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Paulsen’s brash ensemble pieces intermix references from pop culture, fashion, and cartoons, and often include additional text slogans demonstrating his media literacy and/or discussing his mixed-race queer identity. Paulsen credits artists Cameron Platter and Julia Rosa Clark for inspiring him to pursue an installation-based approach to displaying his work. Paulsen’s collages invite comparisons with Jeremy Deller’s processional banners and Tracey Emin’s quilts, although, attitudinally at least, his work is closer to Andy Warhol in its love affair with consumer culture. This lot references the logo of the Italian luxury fashion company Versace, a stylised depiction of the head of Medusa. The exaggerated tears recall Brett Murray’s wall-hung sculptures of baroque figures weeping from his exhibition Crocodile Tears (2007). Paulsen’s interest in fashion is pronounced: he collaborates with designer Adriaan Kuiters on a fashion range, which has been lauded by Vogue Italia, among others.
Paulsen’s work has been featured in exhibitions such as Materiality at Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2020); Radical Love at the Ford Foundation Gallery, New York City, NY, USA (2019); and All Things Being Equal at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town (2017).
1.M Thesen Law (2017) 'Late Stage Capitalism Luxe', adjective, 2(1), Winter, page 75.
Provenance
Strauss & Co, Cape Town, 17 February 2018, lot 25.
Exhibited
SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, Pushing Thirty, 11 February to 25 March 2017.
Literature
M Thesen Law (2017) 'Late Stage Capitalism Luxe', adjective, 2(1), Winter, illustrated in black and white on page 75.
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