I art Gallery: Clare Menck and Cobus Haupt

As from 5 to 26 October, South African based artists Clare Menck and Cobus Haupt exhibit their work in the Iart gallery, Cape Town. Both artists offer a vibrant and contemporary twist on traditional methods of production.

Having studied Fine art at UCT, Stellenbosch and the Academie der Bildenden Kunste, Dresden, Menck has, throughout her many years of painting, gathered a significant following. The subjects Clare Menck chooses to paint have a characteristic quirkiness to them and speak of a world of personal associations.

Under the bridge (self-portrait with the artist’s children)

Menck’s new body of work exists out of large-scale oil on wood. The oil paint on wood technique adds intensity and vibrant colours to her work. The images appear to be seemingly soft but when you go in for a closer look you can see the coarse brush strokes which makes it even more of a masterpiece. The title of the exhibition, immersed, refers to Menck being submerged in water as is represented in her swimmer self-portraits. It also refers to the subjects being immersed in their natural environment, a space that becomes the emotional and psychological soundboard of an inner world. When looking at her body of work as a whole, soothing is the word that come to mind.

Woman (self-portrait) with daughter, swimming

Cobus Haupt’s beautiful figure studies of ordinary people cast in bronze and cement is the perfect example of the ambivalent relationship that exists in art between reality and representation. By leaving bumps and imperfections unresolved Haupt highlights the casting process, making his work as much about the transparency of method as it is about the human figure. Haupt’s work diverges from the conventions of the western tradition of figurative sculpture and follows its own path. He highlights the relationship between touching and seeing. This emphasis combined with his innovative methods of display, culminates in a highly inventive and current exhibition.

Bust of Melissa

Haupt won first prize in the 2001 PPC Sculpture Competition (technical). He has exhibited in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and has work held in the Webber Wentzel Collection.