Dear Friends,

Spring has knocked on our door, but good old Winter is still breathing down her neck.

September promises to be an exciting month.

Our youngest is turning a saintly six soon

I am participating in a group show: Self- I at Grande Provence Gallery in Franschoek. It opens on the 10th of September…feel free to contact the gallery for more information:

Dear art enthusiast,

The Gallery at Grande Provence is proud to present a group
exhibition titled: Self-i

Although, in our digitally obsessed world it seems as if we invented the selfie. Our fascination with our own image must surely date to the first proto human recognising themselves in a reflecting puddle – an existential moment indeed. A sense of self is central to our consciousness and is profoundly important to our lives but it can become a problem – Narcissus is the perfect example.

Smartphones have made the selfie ubiquitous, shared on social media in their millions everyday but artists are still excited by the self-portrait, whose lineage runs, in the West, unbroken from Van Eyck through Rembrandt, Kauffman, Goya, van Gogh, Picasso, Kahlo, Warhol and countless others.

This exhibition is a new look at the self-portrait in the age of the selfie.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Hanneke Benade, Arabella Caccia, Marinda Combrinck, Marinda du Toit, Sue Greeff, Charmaine Haines, Daya Heller, Greg Kerr, Marieke Kruger, Lucinda Mudge, Marieke Prinsloo, Johannes Scott, André Stead, Peter van Straten, Hannalie Taute and Shany van den Berg

Please join us for the opening on Saturday, 10 September at 11h00 in Franschhoek.

On the 21st of September, we are celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary! Oh my how time flies when you are having fun!

I wanted to wear the boots which I spray painted silver. My bouquet fell apart, so we just added some jasmine which we handpicked in the garden – the smell of jasmine still functions like a time-machine back to that day.

Lets move on before I get too nostalgic…

I am flying up to Pretoria on the 22nd of September for the opening of my solo exhibition: The Grimm Needle at Fried Contemporary Gallery:

Hannalie Taute: ‘The Grimm Needle’

Opening Thu 22 Sep @6-8pm | Concludes Sat 22 Oct 2016

Fried Contemporary is pleased to invite you to our forthcoming exhibition opening by Hannalie Taute.

“There is nothing sedate, subtle or comforting about Hannalie Taute’s artworks. Like the artist who created and nurtured them, they are bold, brutally revealing and ultimately unforgettable.The personas that emanate from Taute’s Medea-like “mother-creator-murdress” imagination – they jeer,  jostle and tear at the physical boundaries of the artwork. These “creations” defy simple stereotyping or glib intellectual rationality.

When viewing Taute’s artworks or performance pieces – one is struck by the almost unbearable gravitas of these creations. There is a tangible physical impact on the viewer when confronted with Taute’s visual metaphors. The reaction is instinctive – guttural. Artwork made flesh – to move the flesh. Monster-mothers truly dwell within the works that Taute’s hands conjure.

But as evocative as Taute’s imagery may be – she never panders to her own or our expectations. There is nothing obtuse,ambiguous or intellectually “sensible” (read – objective) to her visual, creative and conceptual intentions. She intends to cut into the very bones of her viewers, and she does so with reckless abandonment – laying bare the frail respectability of our sanity.

When I muse on the work of Hannalie Taute – I often suspect her of being her own “frightener”, her own private boogeyman. She creates and reflects her her own most vivid and visceral fears.Like a latter day Dorian Gray – she gazes on her multiple portraits with the gleeful and greedy intent – of documenting “the horror and the fright within”. It is this uncompromising and brutal gaze that is most admirable in Taute’s artworks.

The archetype is transformed by the subjective intent of the artist – yet it still stands timeless and true. Taute yields the “grimm” needle with as deft a hand on her own eyes,as much as those of the viewer. Taute seers her message onto the viewer’s eyes – only the “blind” could forget Hannalie Taute’s artworks.Once seen they dwell in the recesses of one’s mind always – as the artist intended.”

Sandra Hanekom, Artist and Independent Writer – 2016

and after that my work will be included in a group exhibition at the Museum of Stellenbosch! More about this a bit closer to the time.

I hope September will be a great month for you too.

Greetings from a cold and raining Stilbaai.

Oh and talking about Stilbaai…for those who are curious about where I live and work…here is a snippet: Thanks Mooiloop! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfr9FfPeRf0