Shikongeni and Van Wyk Inspire in ‘Old School Spirit’

Acclaimed artists Andrew van Wyk and Ndasuunje ‘Papa’ Shikongeni’s biographies wink at each other from across the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s upper gallery.

Both arts educators, masterful printmakers and prone to presenting work bright in colour and unbridled in imagination, the two come together in ‘Old School Spirit’. An exhibition for the youth that hopes to foster the liberation of minds and inspire younger artists to take printmaking to new heights.

Peaks equal to and beyond the sparkling exhibition presented by the veteran artists whose work converses in their shared aesthetic of crowded canvasses which speak to the social, the political, the real, the imagined and the spiritual.

Though equally dreamlike and abstract, each artists’ style is trailblazing and instantly recognisable.

Van Wyk in his cryptic monotype scenes and patterned backgrounds which filter his lived experience through fantasy and bring forth a great mother fish with her shadowy school of spawn below green water in ‘Mother and Children’ as well as an eerie intersection of eyeballs as a man of a rock makes love to the feminine sea in ‘All Eyes On Me’.

Ever detailed, mind-bending and seemingly lifted from the complexity of consideration, Van Wyk’s selection, while also showcasing a few of his earlier cardboard prints, surges forward with regard to technique in his focus on airbrushing and stencil.

Also shedding a previous stylistic incarnation as seen in more realistic cardboard print images like ‘Maintaining the Balance’ and ‘Soulful Music’, Shikongeni continues in his shining exploration of printmaking through the use of the drypoint technique on ABS sheets and ink on paper.

Favouring black backgrounds as well as the the repetition of squares and circles that echo Van Wyk’s oft repeated eyes and orbs, Shikongeni’s motif emerges in the form of a dark, dancing figure incorporated into a number of his new frames which allude mostly to love, spirituality, nature, wisdom and faith.

As abstract in form as the concepts often are in reality, Shikongeni’s renderings are arresting, absorbing and stand as a striking new manifestation hosted by his mysterious, oracular dancer.

Foregrounding fantasy and visual representations of various states of the psyche, the exhibition is one that engulfs the viewer, ensnares the mind and easily inspires.

With Shikongeni mentored by Joe Madisia who helped the artist develop his own original techniques in printing, his extensive arts education background and Van Wyk’s teaching of the arts through Rehoboth School of the Arts, the exhibition’s spirit is instructive, hopeful and encouraging.

It is also an acknowledgment of the artists’ esteemed place in the industry as well as an invitation to younger artists to join them in their printed journey of self-expression and interrogation.

“We are making work that will inspire the younger artists like creating a light in the darkness,” says Shikongeni in his role as both educator and the exhibited.

Inspirational, aspirational and on display in the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s foyer and upper gallery until 30 July, ‘Old School Spirit’ is a must see for the art loving and the upcoming.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter

and Instagram

Acclaimed artists Andrew van Wyk and Ndasuunje ‘Papa’ Shikongeni’s biographies wink at each other from across the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s upper gallery.

Both arts educators, masterful printmakers and prone to presenting work bright in colour and unbridled in imagination, the two come together in ‘Old School Spirit’. An exhibition for the youth that hopes to foster the liberation of minds and inspire younger artists to take printmaking to new heights.

Peaks equal to and beyond the sparkling exhibition presented by the veteran artists whose work converses in their shared aesthetic of crowded canvasses which speak to the social, the political, the real, the imagined and the spiritual.

Though equally dreamlike and abstract, each artists’ style is trailblazing and instantly recognisable.

Van Wyk in his cryptic monotype scenes and patterned backgrounds which filter his lived experience through fantasy and bring forth a great mother fish with her shadowy school of spawn below green water in ‘Mother and Children’ as well as an eerie intersection of eyeballs as a man of a rock makes love to the feminine sea in ‘All Eyes On Me’.

Ever detailed, mind-bending and seemingly lifted from the complexity of consideration, Van Wyk’s selection, while also showcasing a few of his earlier cardboard prints, surges forward with regard to technique in his focus on airbrushing and stencil.

Also shedding a previous stylistic incarnation as seen in more realistic cardboard print images like ‘Maintaining the Balance’ and ‘Soulful Music’, Shikongeni continues in his shining exploration of printmaking through the use of the drypoint technique on ABS sheets and ink on paper.

Favouring black backgrounds as well as the the repetition of squares and circles that echo Van Wyk’s oft repeated eyes and orbs, Shikongeni’s motif emerges in the form of a dark, dancing figure incorporated into a number of his new frames which allude mostly to love, spirituality, nature, wisdom and faith.

As abstract in form as the concepts often are in reality, Shikongeni’s renderings are arresting, absorbing and stand as a striking new manifestation hosted by his mysterious, oracular dancer.

Foregrounding fantasy and visual representations of various states of the psyche, the exhibition is one that engulfs the viewer, ensnares the mind and easily inspires.

With Shikongeni mentored by Joe Madisia who helped the artist develop his own original techniques in printing, his extensive arts education background and Van Wyk’s teaching of the arts through Rehoboth School of the Arts, the exhibition’s spirit is instructive, hopeful and encouraging.

It is also an acknowledgment of the artists’ esteemed place in the industry as well as an invitation to younger artists to join them in their printed journey of self-expression and interrogation.

“We are making work that will inspire the younger artists like creating a light in the darkness,” says Shikongeni in his role as both educator and the exhibited.

Inspirational, aspirational and on display in the National Art Gallery of Namibia’s foyer and upper gallery until 30 July, ‘Old School Spirit’ is a must see for the art loving and the upcoming.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter

and Instagram

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