VISI honours SA artists

With an increasing amount of money from corporate sponsorship and the public's interest, galleries and art festivals everywhere are flourishing. It's obvious that South African artists are more popular than ever both locally and abroad, even in the current economic situation. Art worth R25m was sold at the recent Jo'burg Art Fair which included 22 galleries with exhibitions from as far afield as London and New York.

Says Clive van den Berg, curator of Spier Contemporary, “It's a fantastic turn of events to see that big corporate companies who traditionally back sports teams and events are now recognising the value of culture.”

The magazine includes cut-out-and-keep full-page portraits of eight South Africans who have made a real contribution towards promoting the arts. The actual art is currently part of the Muse 08 exhibition at the iart gallery in Cape Town. Included in the exhibition is a portrait of William Kentridge by Paul Emsley which was sold for R190 000 at the KKNK festival in Oudtshoorn.

“Art used to be of interest to small groups of collectors and curators, but now it's caught the attention of the general public. Art has become popular like music. It gets people talking, visiting galleries, learning more, asking questions and spending money. The internet has also changed things, buyers can view, bid and buy overseas by looking at the image on a website,” comments Elana Brundyn, founding owner of the iart Gallery.

The art issue will be available from Tuesday 23 April 2008 and will be on sale at Decorex Cape Town from 25 to 28 April 2008.