“Two Worlds in Four Decades”. Liebrecht Gallery, Somerset West. 23 October – 20 November 2014 Drawing two worlds. The work of Clifford Mpai: 1984 -2014 “Two Worlds in Four Decades” is a retrospective exhibition presented in the Liebrecht Gallery, and a retrospective is exactly what it says: Looking back into the past to identify the events along the way which have had an impact on the artist’s development, and looking at some of the themes in an artist’s oeuvre over a period which have become evident. Over a period, since it is only then that it makes sense – after perusing the literature which has steadily grown with every exhibition, and after relating views expressed in reviews and more scholarly publications to work in public, corporate and private collections – that one can come to some meaningful understanding of what an artist’s work is all about. This Mpai retrospective covers 30 years of his work, completed in four decades. Mpai only started drawing seriously early in 1985, at the age of 48, when he started attending art classes once a week at the Johannesburg Art Foundation. Prior to 1985 he did do drawings but they went into File 13 almost immediately. It was only after Strilli Oppenheimer suggested at the end of 1984 that he should keep these drawings to track his progress that he started filing them properly, and as a consequence it is possible for us to present a comprehensive retrospective exhibition for the period 1984-2014. She was also the one who suggested that he attend art classes at Bill Ainsley’s art school, and Mpai himself confirmed this in an interview with Jean Waite reported in The Sunday Star of 7 February 1988, the day after the opening of his first exhibition. According to Mpai this lasted for two years before he decided to do his own thing at the beginning of 1986. Subsequently some reporters made it one year, “a short period”, or “not for long”, probably to emphasize that Clifford Mpai’s background as an artist can be described as “mainly self-taught” and that he is an “original”. In my numerous conversations with Mpai during his visit to the Cape in 2014 (19 to 26 October) he once again confirmed that it was for two years. It is quite evident when looks at Mpai’s drawings that he is an original and expresses a unique personal view of the world in his drawings. Two years of art classes once a week, instead of one year, obviously does not diminish Mpai’s unique contribution to the history of South African art. Avril Gardiner Liebrecht Gallery 021-8528030 0826825710
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 15:35:16 +0000
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