Event: Portrait Award 2023 Touring Exhibition
When: 25 November 2023 to 28 January 2024
Opening event: Saturday, 25 November 2023, at 11:00
Where: Pretoria Art Museum
Cnr Francis Baard and Wessels Street, Arcadia Park, Arcadia
This year’s rendition of the national Portrait Award competition culminated in the much-anticipated winner’s announcement event at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery on Friday, 1 September 2023.
850 digital entries interpreting the theme of portraiture in various ways were received from creatives from all over South Africa. From these entries, 250 were selected to come to the gallery for on-site adjudication.
The panel, consisting of well-respected artists and educators, Elizabeth Gunter, Paul Emsley and Rose Kirumira, made their final selection of 100 portraits via an anonymous adjudication process. After much deliberation, the winning portraits were selected. These inspiring artworks were created by Themba Mkhangeli (Ryno Swarts Drawing Medal), Juria le Roux (Fifth Place), Marié Stander (Fourth Place), Leanne Olivier (Third Prize), Willem Pretorius (Second Prize) and André Serfontein (First Prize).
Traditionally, portraiture exists not only to portray a physical likeness of the sitter, but to naturally convey a sense of who the sitter is – capturing an essence of the subject’s identity or life story – be it photorealistic, illustrative, painterly or even abstract.
It is a common misconception that portraiture should always be of a photorealistic nature. Although the final selection contains several strong portraits in this style, the overall winning piece ultimately captured the judges’ attention through the masterful application of various painting techniques and visual storytelling.
The unusual and highly successful distortion and elongation of the face and figure placed the painting in a category of its own. These distortions, almost reminiscent (albeit stylistically different) of artworks by Egon Schiele, are rendered anatomically believable, showing that the painter has a deep understanding of the human form. The Prince and Princess of Prince Street (Johan & Bongi) showed more than enough skill and charm to earn its creator – André Serfontein – the coveted first prize.
Serfontein is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Cape Town. He graduated with a National Diploma in Graphic Design from Cape Technikon in 1983 and worked at various advertising agencies as a designer and illustrator before focusing on his art full-time. He has been exhibiting in numerous exhibitions across South Africa since 1995.
André states that his intention is not to capture an ideal or present the pinnacle of beauty. He often distorts and exaggerates certain physical features to capture, amplify and accentuate the essence of his subjects. He looks for interesting faces, for details that he can interpret, for ways to heighten what he sees. He is drawn to a bold, resilient beauty that is imperfect and asymmetrical – the rare magnetism of men and women who are truly comfortable in their skin.
The winning works, along with the other Top 40 portraits, will travel from Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville, Cape Town, to Pretoria, where it will be on display at the Pretoria Art Museum from Saturday, 25 November 2023, until Sunday, 28 January 2024.
The opening event will take place on Saturday, 25 November 2023, at 11:00.
In February 2024, the exhibition will travel to KwaZulu Natal where it will be exhibited at KZNSA Gallery, whereafter it will go to Bloemfontein.
Contact details:
Pretoria Art Museum: 012 358 6750 or artmuseum@tshwane.gov.za
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery: 068 457 8589 or www.rust-en-vrede.com or gallery@rust-en-vrede.com
The Pretoria Art Museum is open on Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 to 17:00 and is closed on Mondays and public holidays.
