Opening of art gallery- Nieu Bethesda

NIEU-BETHESDA NEWS - Experience authentic, original, contemporary art with the opening of Melodic Light at Infinity gallery on Thursday 15 December.

The fusion of an art gallery with artists Dirkje Daling, Thea van Staden, Willem du Plessis and Joanne Reen, create a unique environment to interact with the artists and enjoy their artwork on exhibition.

Daling explains that since childhood she has experienced a condition in which sounds invoke colours, and that with this exhibition she had the opportunity to portray something of this experience on canvas.

"The idea for the theme, Melodic Light, came to me when I saw the beautiful patterns the sun made on the bookmark of my Bible lying in a windowsill. With the bookmark being in a slightly new position each time, the sun's bleaching effect created the most exquisite patterns, and it reminded me of a song. At first I wanted to experiment with leaving plainly painted boards in the sun for long periods of time, blocking out different areas each time and thereby 'painting' in this way, but I didn't have much success as the oil paints I use are quite sun resistant."

"I probably could have experimented with different mediums doing the same thing, but by this stage I decided to take a different route. In trying to portray the experience on canvas, I came up with the idea to try and paint music. Each canvas thereby represents a song. If I am in front of the piano while people are visiting the gallery, they are welcome to ask me to play the music on which a particular painting is based," said Daling.

The Graaff-Reinet Advertiser met with Willem du Plessis, an artist that exhibits his art as well, who explained that his starting point for these portraits was the music of Irish composer Shaun Davey.

Interior of art gallery. Photo: Bradley Rawlinson

“In my profession as an architect designer has usually found expression in furniture design and making, and now also in printmaking. Perhaps it's the shape, proportions and dimensions of faces that has attracted me to this series. I create simple lines which I copy on paper, I then add a second layer of acrylic to add some tonal value. The final stage is to add watercolours, to bring it to life," said Du Plessis .

Thea van Staden told the Advertiser that she was awed by the hand-crafted lanterns that was carried through the muddy streets in song and prayers. ”My second approach, also in oil, are intuitive colour studies inspired by contemporary electronica," said Van Staden.

In the artwork of Joanne Reen, it can be seen that she evokes emotions, by recapturing nature in a free, liquid technique which encourages these emotions to breath and pulsate.

Interior of Art gallery1. Photo: Bradley Rawlinson