A glimpse into the creative world of Alexander Podlashuc
The Life and Legacy of Alexander Podlashuc (1930-2009)
Alexander Podlashuc, affectionately known as “Pod,” was born in 1930 during a period when South Africa was grappling with the complex legacies of colonialism and the burgeoning forces of modernisation. His life and work unfolded against a backdrop of immense social, political, and artistic upheaval; a historical context that deeply informed his artistic vision.
In August 2019, Pod’s legacy was celebrated with an exhibition titled Satire and Irony at Welgemeend in Cape Town. The exhibition showcased Pod’s unique ability to blend irony and beauty, revealing profound truths about the human condition. His use of parody to critique societal norms was presented alongside works by Marianne Podlashuc, Stanley Pinker, and Robert Hodgins.
Pod’s artistic journey was strongly shaped by the spirited intellectual and cultural debates of his era. The Bloemfontein Group was formally established in October 1958 at Professor F.P. Scott’s home, with Pod, Eben van der Merwe, René le Roux, Marianne Podlashuc, and Frans Claerhout as key members. The group played a pivotal role in shifting the Free State art scene from a formalist focus to a more conceptual and expressive orientation.
At Scott’s home in Bloemfontein, Pod engaged with some of South Africa’s brilliant minds, including artists, writers, and philosophers. The debates between avant-garde novelist Etienne Leroux (1922–1989) and the traditionalist novelist, poet, and dramatist D.F. Malherbe (1881–1969) were especially impactful, feeding Pod’s exploration of modernism, the avant-garde, and the consequences of religion. These exchanges nurtured his biting humour and profound commentary that would become hallmarks of his work.
Throughout his career, initially as an illustrator and commercial artist, Pod developed a painterly style characterised by sharp wit and incisive critiques of societal hypocrisy and human folly. His works frequently juxtaposed parody with profound commentary, reflecting the tensions of a society caught between its colonial past and its post-independence aspirations.
Pod’s oeuvre extended beyond satire. His keen observational skills celebrated indigenous manufacturing and construction practices, creating a dialogue between the past and the forces of renewal. This is exemplified in works such as Windmeter, Hout Bay and Mine on the Highveld. His tender, reverent interpretations of landmarks and shipyards demonstrated his versatility and deep appreciation for South Africa’s cultural and industrial heritage. In Synchrolift, Cape Town Docks, his in situ documentation contextualised the historical trajectory of the V&A Waterfront grain silos. His fine eye for lines and the design of objects is notably recognised in Bollard. The theme of homeliness is explored in Still Life with Cape Copper and Fish and Still Life with Fish, Eggs, and Milk, which celebrate the simplicity of preparing a meal.
Alexander Podlashuc’s work remains deeply relevant in contemporary South African art, imbued with a sense of humanity, humour, and a keen awareness of life’s complexities. His ability to weave together historical, cultural, and social threads resonates with ongoing conversations about identity and transformation. His legacy invites us to engage with the complexities of the past while reflecting on the enduring power of art to question, challenge, and inspire.
As one delves into his art, the historical contexts that shaped his vision are revealed in his unique personal style. Above all, the collection celebrates an artist whose silenced voice continues to echo powerfully throughout South Africa’s art community.
Dr Fred Scott – 20 January 2025
Alexander Podlashuc
Upcoming Timed Online Auction
Prelude to Podlashuc
A glimpse into the creative world of Alexander Podlashuc
Closing, 17 February 2025 from 2pm
Pod’s artistic journey was strongly shaped by the spirited intellectual and cultural debates of his era. The Bloemfontein Group was formally established in October 1958 at Professor F.P. Scott’s home, with Pod, Eben van der Merwe, René le Roux, Marianne Podlashuc, and Frans Claerhout as key members. The group played a pivotal role in shifting the Free State art scene from a formalist focus to a more conceptual and expressive orientation.
The Bloemfontein Group
About
Alexander Podlashuc
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.
Political economic commentary underpins Alexander Podlashuc’s work. His paintings of industry, mines, harbours, railways, electrical pylons, machines and factories, speak to his fascination with the economic base. While through works veiled in satire and religious allegory, he sought to paint the violent and dangerous contradictions around him.
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Alexander Podlashuc
R 18 000 – 24 000
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A young Leopold Podlashuc
A young Leopold Podlashuc
Alexander and Marianne Podlashuc
Strauss & Co invited the artist’s son, Leopold Podlashuc to share insights into his father’s life and practice; revealing intriguing anecdotes and memories of an unconventional and imaginative upbringing.
“A kaleidoscope of sensations that intersected and parted and came together again around art. Blue spirals of smoke from cigarettes twirling dust motes in the morning sun. The smell of coffee, linseed oil and turpentine. Sidney Bechet playing on the record player, or Louis Armstrong or Eartha Kitt, with my Mom’s brioche hair bun aloft – elegantly sliding a paint brush without hesitation along a painting, then pausing to dip her brush in her coffee cup. The sweet scent of rum and maple tobacco, with the Carmina Burana too loud, my Dad, as conductor, dabbing blotches of paint as strokes of the baton on a board, or stamping around with his piano accordion that seemed almost as big as he was. Easels at angles, drawings everywhere, taped to windows, stuck to easels, lying on the floor, open books everywhere with painters’ finger smudges on the pages. Flowers in vases, bleached animal bones and interesting bits of wood. Movement, sound, smells and shapes. It was fascinating, stimulating, bewildering. And all coming to bear on the focal points of paintings.
Growing up I admired my parent’s work. They worked hard. They took no shortcuts. There was no bull. But while they had recognition, they were under-appreciated in their time. And this was due to both the politics of the day, and to the demands of investment art for easily recognisable resale.
With respect to the former, their early social realism was deemed too political, too misery ridden to be popular – Mrs Verwoed asked why my Mom couldn’t paint happy smiling natives, and later as they responded and changed to the conditions of their lives – my Dad’s cryptic iconography, and my Mom’s move to super realism capturing the everyday democracy of the US – they were not deemed political enough.
Looking at investment art, obviously the constant flick flacks in style and medium make my parents difficult to fit. On the whole, I think their oeuvre read against the times is a fascinating historical record and commentary.”
– Leopold Podlashuc
