Sophia van Wyk | Flux
Luis Alonzo-Barkigia | Brou-ha-ha
5th November - 13th December
*and by appointment 15th December - 10th January
HAZARD Gallery is delighted to announce two solo exhibitions, shown together. The works are bold and immediate and present layered historical studies, challenge traditional use of materials and explore space, time and context in thrilling ways.
Sophia van Wyk | Flux
Flux features selected works from Sophia van Wyk’s Ontluikende on/ge-mak sculpture series together with a collection of paintings.
Van Wyk incorporates biomorphic forms in her artworks to explore the construction of her emergent cultural and gendered identity. Her cultural identity stems from historically defined conceptions of Afrikaner cultural and female gendered identity under apartheid. She approaches identity as having being influenced by personal and collective histories, yet simultaneously being in a constant state of flux.
In the Ontluikende on/ge-mak sculpture series van Wyk incorporates second-hand furniture with biomorphic forms. Tension and disruption is created between the interaction of the form and the domestic objects. The biomorphic form may be read as mauling the furniture in a ‘dangerous’ way, which leads to the destruction of the furniture piece as an ‘object of comfort’. Through these artworks she question her role as an emergent female Afrikaner in post-apartheid South Africa.
Van Wyk’s conflicting relationship between feelings of comfort and discomfort stem firstly from grappling with her Afrikaner legacy and her longing to construct an emergent ‘South African’ identity that stands apart from this limiting inheritance. Secondly, from her position as a post-feminist grappling with breaking away from the limiting Afrikaner female volksmoeder stereotype, by employing both masculine and feminine work techniques whilst embracing feminine complexity at the same time.
While her Ontluikende on/ge-mak sculpture series are influenced by memories from childhood to marriage. Van Wyk’s paintings focus on her new role as mother and the lies and myths surrounding giving birth. In her paintings she incorporates biomorphic forms and employ strategies of chance.
Sophia Van Wyk (born 1981 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) obtained her Bachelor of Art in Fine Art degree at the University of Stellenbosch, in 2003. She graduated from her Masters in Fine Art (Cum Laude) from the University of Johannesburg at the beginning of 2015.
Van Wyk has participated in a number of group exhibitions and earlier this year she had her first solo exhibition at the FADA Gallery in Johannesburg. Two of her sculptures were selected as regional finalists for the 2015 Barclays L’Atelier competition. Van Wyk works from her studio in Pretoria.
Luis Alonzo-Barkigia | Brou-ha-ha*
*an episode involving excitement, confusion, turmoil, etc., especially a broil over a minor or ridiculous cause.
Luis Alonzo-Barkigia's exhibition is comprised from a series of collage/drawings and banners that were made both in NYC and Johannesburg involving the use of newspaper clippings, catalogs, magazines, books, photographs and fabrics. Abstract and gestural, the works create richly layered and rhythmic compositions of color and shapes in which the images and content of the source material is constantly challenged and subjugated to a formal element within the greater whole. Alonzo-Barkigia’s aim is to seduce the viewer, drawing her into a complex material reality that is constantly shifting and disrupted. However, the works cannot be reduced to a simple formal exercise, the content is a vital part of each work as they depict the artist's immediate surroundings and points of interest. In particular, the works made in Johannesburg mark a trail of the artist’s exploration and familiarisation with the complex social and cultural environment of South Africa. These works mix newspaper clippings and coffee table book illustrations with the artist’s own photography of his walks through the CBD as well as his travels within the country. Thus idealised visions of SA are set next to the latest headlines, which in turn are set next to a hair stylist doing her work on a street corner of Albertina Sisulu. Within the greater body of work, a tension can be felt as different perspectives are pinned up against each other creating a kaleidoscope of the artist’s experiences.
Luis Alonzo-Barkigia (born 1973 in Tijuana, Mexico) studied at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at Malmoe Art Academy in Sweden. He also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture summer residency. Alonzo-Barkigia has held solo exhibitions at Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts, Miami, Hollywood Cultural Center, Hollywood, Florida. He has been included in group shows at the Girls Club, Ft. Luaderdale, Fl, Whitebox, NY, Museo del Chopo, Mexico City, Signal Gallery, Sweden. He currently lives and works between Johannesburg and New York City.
