Parkhurst gallery empowers new artists

UP-AND-COMING artists in South Africa have been given a boost with the recent opening of Art Investments, an art gallery that focuses on empowering unknown artists.

Reginald Khumalo, 25, his business partners, Hugo Knoetze and Sindi Mabaso-Koyona, opened the gallery in Parkhurst last month with the specific purpose of providing a fixed platform for artists who would otherwise not have one.

"I was working at a gallery and Hugo walked in and I tried to sell him a painting," Khumalo says. "He dared me to paint something and said he would come back to buy it."

Khumalo kept his word, as did Knoetze, and the idea of starting an arts investment gallery was born.

This took place in April and seven months later Art Investments found a home in Parkhurst.

Khumalo, who is operations director of the gallery, says internationally renowned artist Wakaba Mutheki mentors artists and pushes them to produce their best work.

The small gallery is filled with South African-inspired art. The artists earn a salary in addition to being able to showcase their work in the gallery.

"We are looking for people who are good, but have no platform," Khumalo says.

He gives the example of Vincent van Gogh, who sold only one painting - to his brother-in-law - while still alive. Van Gogh's paintings became popular only after his tragic death.

The aim of the gallery is to expose southern African art while it is still inexpensive and the artists are still producing beautiful work.

One such artist is Patrick Rasai, a Zimbabwean-born talent who is rapidly making a name for himself.

Rasai says he only began to imagine he could draw when he was younger.His classmates told him how good he was and constantly asked him to draw things.

He studied fine arts and graphic design at the National Art Gallery in Zimbabwe in 2002.

Among his list of achievements is being able to showcase his art in Chicago, Holland and the UK. Rasai has also won numerous awards, including the Best Artist award at the Black Like Us exhibition in Fourways.

He says his inspiration comes from anything African: farms, fishing, townships and mining.

"Mostly I love to tell the African story through art," he explains.

The recently married artist says he was able to save enough money to arrange his wedding because of the gallery and the exposure of his work to art lovers.

Rasai's art has a particularly distinctive texture and he makes use of rustic and bright colours.

The prices of the works range from R3000 to R12500. The most expensive painting on display at the moment is by a KwaZulu-Natal-based artist Zama Dlela and is titled Laughter, selling for R12500 It is a large oil on canvas painting of an African woman with beaded braids on her hair.

The gallery has already garnered international recognition, with an invitation to showcase in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

"We were unable to attend because we were setting up the gallery, but we will definitely go next year," Khumalo says. "It is encouraging to be asked to attend."

So far, he says, the gallery has been doing well and they hope to open studios in addition to the work on display in the gallery.