After a debut exhibition in Joburg in February, he is now bringing a new collection of 26 paintings to Artscape.
"I feel totally at home at Artscape, because I have done so many shows there since the 1980s," said De Vries. "During my last show at the Opera, Casper Goes Khaki, I saw an exhibition in the marble foyer and I realised that this was exactly what I had to do. I love Cape Town and with the help of my curator we have specifically chosen paintings for the Mother City exhibition."
The exhibition will be opened on 8 April by the writer Marianne Thamm, a long-time friend of De Vries, and will run for two weeks, until 20 April.
De Vries's art debut was received with much positive feedback, and several works were sold, among others to top fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee. "I think I surprised a lot of people who thought it's unlikely for a comedian to be able to express himself on canvas," De Vries said. "This is still very early days for me as an artist and I am learning and experimenting with different styles - and having the best time in the process!"
The fledgling artist had employed art historian Eunice Basson as curator and she made all decisions regarding the paintings chosen for the two exhibitions. Basson describes De Vries as "an almost rampant colourist" with a keen eye for composition. "His paintings are honest and competent with a lot of emotional range - no gimmicks, no technological intervention, but only the true mark of the artist's hand." The paintings selected for Art @ Artscape are a combination of realistic and abstract works that are representative of the experimental and exploratory phase of his artistic development, explained Basson.
De Vries's beloved dogs Halfrida and Kent, who feature in many of his paintings, are accompanying their master as always, and will be attending the exhibition too. De Vries will be bringing his travelling studio with him and plans to create smaller paintings while in Cape Town for the two weeks of the exhibition. "I want to create work that is accessible to anyone who loves art."
Exhibitions are also planned for Nelspruit and Bloemfontein later in 2014; each to feature new work.
Art at Artscape will run from 9 to 20 April. A full catalogue of De Vries's work will soon be up for viewing and for sale on caspershop.co.za.
