Art Exhibition: A Collection of Retired Muses: Guided tour on 2 December 2024

Art Exhibition: A Collection of Retired Muses

A collection of retired muses is a new art exhibition consisting of works by Ruhan Janse van Vuuren and Bastiaan van Stenis. It is the first time that these works that they co-created over a number of years are being exhibited.

Dr Jan van der Merwe, a member of the SA Akademie’s Visual Arts Commission organised this project and will be presenting a guided tour of this collection on 2 December. The public is welcome to attend the guided tour.

‍Date and time: Monday, 2 December 2024
(Official Opening)
Place: Art room. SA Academy Building, 574 Ziervogel Street, Arcadia, Pretoria.
Theme: A Collection of retired muses/ A Collection of retired muses
RSVP: Send an email to Sanita Meyer at akademie@akademie.co.za by Saturday, 30 November 2024.

Cost: Free

EXHIBITION DATES:
2 November - 14 December 2024
6 January - 18 January 2025

Exhibition is open to the public.

Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesdays from 09:00 to 19:00 (with a glass of sherry)
Saturdays 09:00 - 14:00
Sundays closed

Inquiries: akademie@akademie.co.za

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A COLLECTION OF RETIRED MUSES

Works by Bastiaan van Stenis and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren

Compiled by Dr. Jan van der Merwe

The inspiration draws from the profound disjunction caused by the state of present existence merging with the fickle reality of memory and anticipation of destiny. It is the present shifting through the cracks of our past and a cluttered expectation of a possible future.
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It is the song, dance, words, and textures of existence, the lightning slicing through the mind, the memories thundering through the now.

This body of work is a collection grounded in Outsider Art (Art Brut). It is a raw and unrefined art that moves away from the traditional restrictions placed upon definitions of high art. The artists deviate from the traditional processes of mould making and casting. They embrace an experimental form where the materials are defined and refined into something new. In an enigmatic way, this process echoes Hesiod’s notion that the Muses bring people to a state of forgetfulness of their pains, obligations, and the mundanity of expectation.

The materials used are not at all traditional. They are pushed to their limits and placed in contrasting arrangements. This effect makes one imagine that they are struggling against each other, fighting to remain themselves whilst they are inevitably becoming more enriched by the struggle than they could have been alone. The hardness mirrors the softness, the chaos mirrors the stillness, and the memory mirrors the possibility.

It would be easy to view these works as wildly chaotic, too busy, and confusing noisy commotion. On a surface level, this is true. But examined with time and patience, the details within the works clarify their nuances, producing moments of insight, and fragments of sanity. In this way, they reflect all journeys: the gathering of everything, the collection of some things, the disposal of most things, and the lingering of passing things. The product, in this instance, is the process itself not just in the creation, but in the viewing thereof. It is not possible to view the same thing in the same way twice. Time will not allow it. Experience will shape it. Memory will guide it. The light striking the metal-clad forms will reshape one's perception.

This collection is a copy-paste that defies technology, whilst simultaneously embracing it. It is where nature (both in its literal and human definition) is captured and cast, while throwing all caution overboard. It is a collection that is formed in a state of collaboration– the passing of one tangible object to another person. Within the space of individual reasoning and inspiration, it is built upon and redefined, redesigned, and reimagined. The artists worked together separately. And the works, though cast and seemingly finished, are not complete. The viewer is the final collaborator in each artwork, as their experience forms the final piece of the composition.

This is purely a collection of moments stored as memories. To be forgotten. To be reforged within a new moment. A tragedy of time. A celebration of humour. A dance of poetry. A mockery of history. Inspiration for a divine future.

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This art exhibition is presented by the Commission for Visual Arts of the South African Academy for Science and Art in support of Afrikaans Officially 100.

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BASTIAAN VAN STENIS

He is primarily a self-taught artist.

In his own words, “What drives me is the process; the creation is just another stop on the way.”

Van Stenis embarked on his professional artistic journey in the early 2000s. Since then, he has held numerous exhibitions in both South Africa and abroad.

Having lived and worked in Europe for several years, his experiences there have profoundly influenced his artistic expression.

His choice of subjects and mediums is wide-ranging. He employs various paints, glues, paper, wax, and incorporates found objects, along with taxidermy.

His sculptural works utilize various materials, such as wood, metal, furniture, resins, and incorporate his taxidermy skills.

The specimens for his taxidermy projects are sourced from roadkill and occasionally through contacts with veterinary clinics and neighboring farmers who encounter natural losses of young livestock.

Van Stenis remains dedicated to his crafts, persistently exploring new materials and techniques. His motivation is to create art that is not only visually striking but also emotionally resonant for himself, all while aiming to establish a profound connection with his audience.

His works serve as a personal narrative, depicting the challenges of growing up and navigating the complexities of social norms, expectations, and definitions of self. Van Stenis confronts these notions as he portrays

seemingly ordinary moments with a sense of simultaneous implosion and explosion—we become what we gather and experience. Memories etch themselves into us like defining marks. Emotions are collected, shaping our form. Our enduring essence lies in the smears that carry chosen identities. In this style that transcends definition, we embrace the classicism of artistry, the modernity of texture, the protest of neo-expressionism, and the potential for more.

Currently, van Stenis works and resides in the Overberg area near Cape Town, South Africa.
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Visit the artist's website
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RUHAN  JANSE VAN VUUREN

Ruhan Janse van Vuuren was born in 1981 in Amersfoort, South Africa.

Janse van Vuuren’s work is visually arresting and it leaves the viewer with an emotive response that permeates through them.  His technically apt figures become the canvasses that he plays upon – he adds mundane objects and marks, he takes elements away.  These culminate in works that are imbued with nuanced symbolism and meaning.  

He adds layers of meaning, and the figures become shrouded in them.  These elements, which vary between the mundane and the more significant, thus become entwined in the figure’s purpose and interpretation.  There is an element of experimentation that heightens the work, and Janse van Vuuren pushes his art beyond the expected to create the unexpected. From the cluttered bases that ground the figures to the objects carried that become their glorious burden, the artist demonstrates the idea of acceptance.  It is the notion that the self can only truly be defined when every part that shapes our becoming is accepted.

The works reverberate with a tongue in cheek playfulness that lends itself to black humour.  The figures essentially become playthings that shift with the social scenarios and emotive landscapes that they exist within.  He experiments constantly, and explores alternative ways of being and becoming as a result.  

Janse van Vuuren currently works and resides in Pretoria, South Africa.

This playful approach to the more serious ideas that he explores (the individual in society, the impact of the past and present on being and the scattered moments that ground us and become our burdens) is inspired by his children.  He is intrigued by their honesty that exists without filters, and the voices that are seen in their stories and art as a result of this.  This honesty can be interpreted as the closest that we can come to truth.‍

Visit the artist's website