CAPE TOWN ART FAIR QUESTIONNAIRE
1. In the Woodstock, Blanc gallery space, the sculptures and objects they have on display are very rarely placed on plinths. The galleries objects and sculptures are worked into the space. Whereas at the art-fair, Blanc made use of a number of plinths for work. On top of this, there were only big works, and small portraits, there were no medium sized works and not very many obscurely shaped works, most of them were rectangular and framed. The Stevenson space in Woodstock usually paints their walls a colour that synchronizes the space with the work. At the art fair, the Stevenson space only had white walls. In addition to this, the gallery like to spread their work inside rooms and not across a stage, they divided their area at the art-fair into little cubes with the white room dividers/walls.
2. Three works I really enjoyed: Bad paper Nico Krijno, The Fluid Right Edge 2017, Kyle Weeks â Vezepame Hembinda. Zander Blom â Zebra Butt. Three works I really didnât enjoy: Kilmany jo liversage, machinika119. Distortion 1 horizontal lines, ihosvanny. Tuirya magadlela, hlinyo ngiphumile kuwe thando.
3. This year, many of the works on the show were paintings or had a painterly quality. There wasnât a lot of installation work at all, which is not much of a surprise considering the point of showing at the fair is to sell things and installations are not necessarily as easy to flip or sell to a tourist or a collector as a painting or an easily transportable object.
4. There were passageways created between booths and stands. A lot of the spaces were divided with columns and few were made into cubes. I noticed that a lot of the photography galleries tried to make white cube spaces whereas the more contemporary painting galleries had dividers in the cubes.
5. Some of the spaces didnât use printed labels, one in particular, used pencil writing on the walls as labeling! This didnât look much like a creative decision, it looked more like a last minute fix. Some works had prices next to them, others you had to request. Most of the spaces hung the work at eye level.
6. The fair was almost split into three main sections, with photography booths, painting and then sculpture/object-based work. With the restaurant section on the one side and the sponsorship sections on the other. It was difficult to zoom out and gain a feel for where the space was going or how the curators wanted us to move across the fair.Â
7. Lighting was artificial and bright.
8. A lot of people at the fair had a tourist type look about them, holding cameras and wearing floral button up t-shirts. Prospective buyers or visitors seemed to dress affluently and even sometimes eccentrically, galleristâs dressed conservatively and formally.
9. Most of the galleries seemed to pull their grandest most extravagant or large- in-scale works out for the fair. It seemed like the galleries tried to push their biggest names out into the fair. Some works on plinths, notably Athi-patra Rugaâs sculpture of a figures bust, titled Approved Model of the New Azania, was almost screaming âbuy meâ. It had its own solo booth and was placed strategically on the outskirts of the gallery space, close to the pathway, subjecting passers-by to its glamour and extravagance.
10. Athi-patra Rugaâs sculpture, titled, Approved Model of the New Azania, had a shimmery, gold finish. The work exemplified wealth in that it was an object, that had no physical function (apart from being an artwork), made up of what looked like diamonds, expensive crystals and pendants. Although the work may not have actually been made of real diamonds, the piece felt as though it was dripping with fortune and wealth. Something that someone might have in their lounge, just for the sake of having it, and because it looks so expensive.
11. There was a gallery called Retro Africa, a lot of the work they had up at the fair didnât seem like it was doing âAfrican Artâ any justice in that the works on display looked very unskillfully made, they did not display any technical skill. The works looked like something one might pick up on a smaller scale at a trendy curio shop in De Waterkant. As an establishment I am sure Retro Africa donât uphold this kind of image outside of the fair, it just seemed as though they were really trying to appeal to anyone outside of Africa that wants to own something stereotypically âAfrican lookingâ, something that says âI spent a holiday in Africa and came back with this generic yet exclusive piece of African art.â
12. Galleristâs and sales persons were very open to revealing prices to me, I am not sure if it was because they just didnât take me seriously or if it was because it is a fair, but both galleries I asked were comfortable and approachable with revealing prices.
13. Sponsors were not that pushy with putting their brand in every bodies face. There was a Boschendal wine stand, I imagine this is good marketing for them as tourists will buy their wine at restaurantâs or shops after tasting it at the fair. As for investec, I didnât see that many logos floating around at the fair. I suppose Investec as a company sounds quite exclusive and serious, art-fairs are considered big budget, exclusive events. Investec as a company seems to uphold that sort of exclusive attitude. I think that there was a lot more sponsorship going on behind the VIP section.
14. CTICC is a great place for conventions I imagine because it is geared for events. It has a large open space, it has all the facilities to facilitate large amounts of people, it is centrally placed in Cape Town, it is next to hotels and restaurants
15. Some of the Kentridge looked older most of the works at the fair.
17. Solo booths were tailored to suit the style of the artists work on display. For example, in Athi-patra Rugaâs solo booth, the walls around his work were painted a dark tone. As for the way the walls were arranged, they cornered off his work from the rest of What if the Worlds space, also, the lighting may have been a little different and the work was facing outwards towards the pathway/route people were taking around the fair.
18. Jody Paulsen is popping up online and in a VISI publication this year. Bad Paper are also popping up on social media.
19. This year, many of the works on the show had a tactile quality. A lot of what we saw felt like it was created with a sensitivity or a consciousness towards the tactile. In addition to this, what came as no surprise, most all of the work at the show was rectangular in format. With regards to framing, a lot of the prints were in frames that did not speak to the work in some way. However, the Ayanda Mabulu piece had a frame that spoke directly to the semiotics of the work. This was one of the few paintings that used a frame in this way. It also looked like a lot of the work at the show dealt with Afrocentricity and many of the works I took note of dealt with conversations around post vs. the idea of neo-colonialism.
20. The French Gallery, Officine Dellimmagine, because they arenât based in SA and they deal in Euros but are interested in some South African artists. Then again What if the World would be amazing because they are local and feel progressive in the sense that they embrace new, contemporary work, and their artist all seem to say good things about the gallery.
21. I would not like to work for a gallery if I had to choose I would choose Officine Dellimmagine because it would force me to learn another language really well and I would work in their sales department and travel the world selling their photographic work.
22. If I were to show at the fair I would enjoy creating a booth for independent, student work. I would show only student work and it would only be fun art.