Past Exhibit - MYFANWY BEKKER
 ABSTRACT INTEGRATION 163 x 213 cm mixed media on canvas |
 TIME 163 x 213 cm mixed media on canvas |
 ELEPHANT 163 x 213 cm mixed media on canvas |
 FIRE 163 x 213 cm mixed media on canvas |
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 CALIENTE 122 x 166 x 61 cm mixed media |
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“In this show I want to talk
about light and a type of fine tensile strength, perhaps a feminine
strength, seductive but tough. |
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MYFANWY “Muffin’ BEKKER-BALAJADIA BORN: 23 June, 1947 in Pretoria, South Africa EDUCATION: 1970 Pretoria Technikon Ceramic Technology 1969 Diploma Fine Arts, Pretoria Technikon (major in painting) 1965 Matriculated Pretoria High School for Girls FROM THE ARTIST: ‘Just as there are many ideas and concepts one has to share, so there are many media and forms to choose as vehicles. It’s sort of like a visual conversation, different audiences, different languages, different places. One decides upon the most efficient and pleasing ‘fit’. We, as artists, go along, searching for our own truth and so our collective creativity becomes our personal and cultural history. We are simply visual communicators.” Whilst studying at Pretoria Technikon,
Bekker had associations with Richard Adams, Walter Battis, Esias
Bosch, Sammy Lieberman and Gunter van der Reis. Later she also worked
under Vladimir Tarachenhof in the Sey chelles. She was studio manager
for Richard Adams School of Ceramics in South Africa and taught
life drawing at Pretoria University at the Architectural School
before leaving for the United States in 1976 where she continued
to teach in various institutions and run workshops. EXHIBITIONS: SOLO COMMISSIONS: Bekker has carried out many private
and corporate commissions, including: COLLECTIONS: Bekker’s work is represented in many private collections worldwide. Her corporate collections include: American Airlines, Texas PUBLICATIONS: 2004 San Diego Union Tribune CRITICAL COMMENTARY: “Myfanwy Bekker’s work has been as consistent and heart-felt
as any artist I have ever known. In the twenty four years I have
known her, she has continually included observations on her surroundings,
her South African heritage and her love of nature in every artistic
endeavour. She is spontaneous in her application of paint, giving
her images a soul - filled with emotion. Her understanding of materials
makes it easy for her to translate ideas into paintings or sculptural
work that capture the sentiment she wants to convey. She often includes
neon in organic configurations that intertwine with clay, twigs,
actual canvas or other structural elements that she has painted.
Myfanwy’s South African background is ever-present in her
work. Her love of the country and her upbringing are inescapable
trademarks of this wonderful artist!” “Myfanwy’s body of work is a culmination of her creative explorations over many years. Her life’s journey is clearly reflected in her innovative and inspirational works exposing a profound sense of femininity as well as the juxtaposition of the influences of her two primary cultures. Bekker’s diverse artworks capture metaphorically her passion
for transcending boundaries and revealing both the strength and
fragility of the human condition.” “Myfanwy Bekker, the artist, the woman, is a source of light.
She uses pencil and paintbrush with more immediacy and ease than
most use words to tell the story of their lives. Her art is lyrical
and soulful. There is beauty and delight, while also commenting
on the severity of our human condition. Myfanwy’s experiences
of South Africa, Texas, New Mexico and California, the landscape
of the earth and the hearts and minds of each place’s inhabitants
are all blended in her paintings...” “ .... [Myfanwy’s] private life and artistic creativity
is inseparable. Her art is not only her life, her life is also at
the heart of her art. She ‘sees’ beyond the visible
and translates her ‘visions’ into diverse contexts and
media, expressions that live as sacred dreamscapes, intuitive prayers
and parables, reflecting both the shadow and the ideal potential
of nature ...” “ ...her extraordinary versatility in whatever medium she
chooses, be it paint, clay, wood or glass projects her ability yo
meld the cerebral with the emotional and the visual .....” |
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