Dusk to Dawn - solo show by Philippe Bousquet at Southern Guild gallery

Philippe Bousquet

The solo show, titled Between Dusk and Dawn, presents the artist’s intellectual foray into the space between these two states. “When it is not dark, it is not light,” he explains of the title that alludes to the ideas of harmony and balance, in opposition to life’s extreme constructs. “There is no dark or light, they are just concepts of our mind and we only notice them because of our perception and adaptation to our environment.”

Bousquet, who has lived in Johannesburg for close to 13 years, and is known for his intricately constructed jewel-like sculptures, will introduce new directions in his work, including portraiture, fine art and larger-scale structures.

Southern Guild director Trevyn McGowan, says, “Each piece has such a strong character that gets under ones skin when it resonates with ones narrative. The pieces are magnetic individually but, as an entire body of work, presented in our gallery in this way, one gets to understand the larger vision behind it all. It was important for Bousquet to be given a platform to express the comprehensive narrative.”

The artist agrees. “There is not one masterpiece in this show. The masterpiece is simply to have them all in the same place.”

This will be the gallery’s final show in Woodstock, as Southern Guild will be moving to its new flagship venue at the V&A Waterfront Silo District in the latter part of May, forming part of The Guild Group’s new permanent Guild concept.