Dee Donaldson – Formation

I feel immensely privileged to have been part of this exhibition – to have engaged with 3 painters of this standard and integrity. The first word that comes to mind when reflecting on this show is: ‘honesty’. Honesty of intention, dedication to the process of art making and the striving to reflect or talk about a particular journey or experience. Revealing that to a public audience is, at the best of times, an often daunting and exposing experience. (I smile as I read Anet’s comment about the length of time it took me to unwrap my paintings for hanging)

last hour
oil on canvas
2008

Anet Norval’s work (speaking of unwrapping) is at first like the unpacking of memories and objects from a box kept since childhood. The kind that is kept and shared, seated cross-legged on a bedroom floor. On closer observation they are not random memories. They are indeed poetic, cohesive conversations. Highlighted memories and fragments of events framed or specifically noted. Comments on a childhood, a particular era with its prescribed norms laced together as a whole. Fairy princesses… wolves and cowboys. Unlike the other work on the show, Anet’s may take a little more time – those who have taken that time I know have come away as intrigued and rewarded as I was.

My first impression of Janet Solomon’s paintings was one of duality. I found myself utterly seduced as a painter yet strangely uncomfortable the longer I stood in front of the work. I believe both of these responses are merits of the work. Seduced by Janet’s skill, her understanding of light, the sheer exquisite feat of that forest… Then the discord: Figures centrally placed in beautiful, natural environments yet feeling they do not belong there. At once the realism of these spaces seems to transform into more of a psychological space in which the figures seem suspended or locked. Uncomfortable in their worlds. Naked, vulnerable.

rainlight
oil on canvas
2008

Grace Kotze’s attraction to light as an almost tangible element becomes more and more evident. Mark making and light fuse in many of the small works into a dream-like abstraction, hinting at the mundane through a visual veil. Roads travelled through the dark and through the rain... They reminded me of travelling at night as a child, lights forming shapes passing by through glass and half-sleep. Being removed consciously – being behind something, be that a camera or winds-screen. They are beautifully rendered split second moments of light and movement. The sense of noticing something extraordinary in very ordinary moments, just before it’s gone.

Dee Donaldson