Kaffie Pretorius, Fana Malherbe, Marlene von Dürckheim & Hannes Loots

5 October – 1 November 2001

During the month of October Die Dorp Straat Galery is hosting an excellent exhibition of four well-known Stellenbosch artists: Fana Malherbe, Kaffie Pretorius, Hannes Loots and Marlene von Dürckheim. Fana Malherbe and Hannes Loots will be exhibiting their sculptural work while Kaffie Pretorius and Marlene von Dürckheim will be showing their paintings.

Kaffie Pretorius hails from Lamberts Bay on the West Coast, but completed her studies at Stellenbosch after which she worked at art schools in Los Angeles, Amsterdam and the Art Academy in Leuven. She also studied for a year under André van Zyl at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town. After participating in a number of group exhibitions across the country she started having her solo shows in 1987. In 1992 the University of Stellenbosch hosted an exhibition of her work and a book on her art "Kaffie Pretorius en haar wêreld" was launched. Kaffie’s paintings combine and earthiness with intuition and emotion, where symbolism becomes an integral aspect of her work. Her paintings depicts the people and environment of the West Coast where she grew up, so does the strong colours and simplicity. Kaffie’s work can be found in private collections throughout South Africa and abroad.

Fana Malherbe retired from plastic surgical practice last year. During his years of training as a plastic surgeon in England, he took art classes and later as a young surgeon in Cape Town a course in sculpture at the Cape Technicon. In 2000 he attended the well-known Slade Art School at the University College of London for an advanced course in sculpture. He no longer reconstructs living tissue but is now a full time sculptor in stone and clay, the human body still being his main interest. He admires the Greek Classical ideal of symmetry and beauty of form in the human body both in motion and in rest. Currently he sculpts large bronze platters (see the Sun Discs on exhibition) as well as wall panels and smaller works in bronze and stone. He believes in the 'entertainment value' of sculpture. His work can be found in private collections throughout South Africa as well as many public collections including a bust of C. Louis Leipoldt, in the foyer of the Louis Leipoldt Hospital in Bellville and a bust of Prof. Mike de Vries in the De Vries room of the Sasol Art Gallery in Stellenbosch.

Marlene Gräfin von Dürckheim attained her B.A. (Fine Arts) degree at the University of Pretoria and an Honours degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 1989. She lectured at both universities. She also taught at the Johannesburg School of Art, Ballet Music and Drama and at it's Afrikaans counterpart, Hoërskool Die Kruin. While working at the Johannesburg Art Gallery she came into contact with the graphic works of a great number of European masters. Marlene works in a variety of media: oil, egg, tempera, pastel and conté. Her compositions are based on harmonies of tone, line colour, form and texture, always seeking 'new' solutions. In his opening address at a previous solo-exhibition, Prof. Charles du Ry described her work as follows: "The concept of interaction between music, painting and poetry, so well applied, creates an overall harmony in her work." Marlene regularly participates in group exhibitions and has frequently held solo exhibitions since 1989. Her work can be found in a number of private collections here and abroad as well as public collections including the University of Stellenbosch, ABSA and Sun International.

Dr Hannes Loots studied the techniques of sculpting and sculpture as an extramural student at the Technicon of Port Elizabeth, at first under the guidance of David Jones and later also under Andrietta Wentzel. Between 1992 and 1995 he completed advanced courses in the methods and techniques of sculpting and sculpture. The Eastern Province Association of Fine Arts awarded the Dave MacGreggor trophy of sculpture to him in 1993. He creates a wide variety of designs from materials such as indigenous wood, bronze and soft metal. He has participated in many joint exhibitions and his work can be found in numerous private collections in South Africa and abroad. In Hannes’s own words: "My modeling is simplistic and impulsive. Texture, colour and form are often dictated by the medium I use. I do not wish to make a specific statement with my sculpture, but often find my thoughts stimulated by what I see, read or experience, and am then moved to try and translate that into a sculpture."