Sculptor Anton Smit is exhibiting In Retrospect at Pretoria’s Menlyn Boutique Hotel. Diane de Beer spent a morning with the prolific artist.
Sculptor Anton Smit knew as a teenager that he wanted to sculpt. He discovered Michelangelo’s work at a young age paging through magazines and knew his Pietá was the work of an angel.
“I was convinced no human being could be capable of making such a beautiful thing. When I discovered that this was the work of a man, I realised what I wanted to do,” he says.
But things didn’t come easy. A son of a police general (if one who performed Shakespeare and sang opera), his dad wasn’t enamoured by his career choice. Smit had to go it alone. It was only years later when a South Coast newspaper (where his father was mayor at the time) did a four-page spread on Anton and his work that he realised what his son had achieved.
The journey was a tough one. A true artist, someone who had no choice but to follow his passion, he also had to make a living. With no funds to go to university, he spent time in the police force where he was an embarrassment to his father. He knew he had to break away, which he did, and started working seriously at his sculpting career, but also raising a family as well as some individuals who needed a helping hand along the way. Smit is someone who lives life the way it presents itself to him and if that means feeding another mouth, that’s what he does.
In between the sculpting, he worked as a window designer, a security guard and security officer until he found a better-paid job at Steel Mobile in Rosslyn which brought some stability. After a few good showings at New Signatures (a competition still running today), an Artist of the Month in 1982 at the Pretoria Art Museum, followed by his first solo show in 1987 at the then Beuster Skolimowski Gallery, with another the next year at the SA Association of Arts, his work as an artist was finally acknowledged.
Wandering through the maze of sculptures in his astonishing Sculpture Park, from way back to today, it is amazing to review his road to success. The scope of his work is mind-boggling and it is exciting to witness that he finally found his Camelot.
With the horizon stretching as far as the eye can see and beyond, it is the perfect backdrop for his sometimes marvellously extravagant, often exuberant sculptures.
From the gigantic head about a kilometre from the Sculpture Park’s gate which heralds this heartland of Smit culture (although the Bronkhorstspruit community has challenged him to take this artwork down), to the entrance of the Spark, walking through the many diverse sculptures to the entrance of his studio/gallery is quite something.
It is a working studio in the sense that when he is on the premises he is hard at work on his next project. Smit has a workforce of about 14 people who have worked with him for a long time, as well as the livewire behind him, his wife Roelien. She curated the Menlyn Boutique Hotel exhibition with some of his finest sculptures from the past 40 years as an acknowledgement of the inspirational work he has done and what he has achieved.
Much of his inspiration was passed on to his son Lionel whose art career has been the complete opposite of his father’s.
The young Smit had all the support and was part of his dad’s annual exhibitions from the age of 12. “His work sold quickly because, of course, it was cheaper,” says Smit, but he knows that this early sweet smell of success has served his painter son well. While Smit walked the independent route, his son was snapped up by Everard Read, with most of his exhibitions sold out even before openings.
“It’s crazy,” says his proud dad, but he still prefers to walk it alone. “I have been doing it my own way for far too long,” says a sculptor who finally will be given his due. And while that has not been his only concern, the fact that his work is out there for everyone to view – both at the Menlyn Boutique Hotel and at the Sculptor Park, (in Bronkhorstspruit, open daily except Mondays) – brings joy to his heart.
Factbox
l The Menlyn Boutique Hotel (209 Tugela Rd, Ashlea Gardens, just off the Atterbury turn-off) is hosting In Retrospect, some of Anton Smit’s finest work from the past 40 years.
Well known for themes of suffering, reconciliation, glory and sublimation, the artist is self-taught and has exhibited in Rome, Milan, New York and Hong Kong. His work is also permanently displayed in the Pretoria and Pietersburg art museums.
The exhibition ends July 16. The restaurant at the hotel, The Black Bamboo, with head chef, Pellie Grobler, opens 7am to 10pm. Booking is essential. The exhibition is open to the public and they do not have to eat or stay at the hotel/restaurant in order to view the artwork on display. But it is a great option.
l The Anton Smit Sculpture Park’s 3ha grounds are situated on the northern side of the Bronkhorstspruit Dam, on a plateau overlooking the water. Among the backdrop of natural limestone formations, manicured lawns and succulent gardens, it is the spot where the expansive collection of Smit’s monumental sculptures and installations can best be viewed.
The park attracts tourists, art buyers and includes Imagine Café, a coffee shop open Tues to Sun, 10am to 4pm. It is only 40 minutes from Pretoria and 60 minutes from Joburg, but as they advertise, a world away.
Address with driving directions: N4 towards Witbank, take Exit 45 towards R568/Ekandustria/R25, turn right towards R25 and Kempton Park. At the T junction turn left, take the first right (sign for Bronkhorstbaai, up hill), turn left at the stop sign, towards Aqua Vista Mountain Estate. Keep left towards Imagine Cafe and Anton Smit Sculpture Park. You can also take the Witbank road from Joburg and work your way towards the park in that way.
l More info: [email protected], 082 653 7659, http://www.antonsmit.co.za.