Arts writer
COMEDIAN Casper de Vries is bringing his newfound passion to Cape Town with Art at Artscape, the first exhibition of his paintings in the Mother City from today until April 20. Writer Marianne Tham will open the exhibition.
The veteran comic decided late last year to retire from one-man stand-up shows after 27 years, to devote more time to other interests, including painting.
He first picked up a paintbrush two years ago when visiting his artist friend Michele Nigrini in the Free State village of Rosendal.
“I don’t know what brought on the urge, but once I started I did not stop, and I’ve made over 100 paintings since then,” he says.
The exhibition will include 26 of his new works. “I feel totally at home at Artscape, because I have done so many shows there since the 1980s,” says De Vries.
“During my last show at the Opera House, Casper Goes Khaki, I saw an exhibition in the marble foyer and I realised that this was exactly what I had to do. I love Cape Town, and with the help of my curator we have specifically chosen paintings for the Mother City exhibition.”
De Vries’s art debut in Johannesburg was positively received, and several works were sold, among others to top fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee. “I think I surprised a lot of people who thought it’s unlikely for a comedian to be able to express himself on canvas,” De Vries says. “This is still very early days for me as an artist and I am learning and experimenting with different styles… and having the best time in the process!”
The fledgling artist had employed art historian Eunice Basson as curator, and she made all decisions regarding the paintings chosen for the two exhibitions.
Basson describes De Vries as “an almost rampant colourist” with a keen eye for composition. “His paintings are honest and competent with a lot of emotional range – no gimmicks, no technological intervention, but only the true mark of the artist’s hand.”
The paintings selected for Art at Artscape are a combination of realistic and abstract works that are representative of the experimental and exploratory phase of his artistic development, explains Basson.
De Vries’s beloved dogs Halfrida and Kent, who feature in many of his paintings, will accompany him, and will also attend the exhibition.
De Vries will bring his travelling studio with him and plans to create smaller paintings while in Cape Town for the two weeks of the exhibition.
“I want to create work that is accessible to anyone who loves art.”
l See www.caspershop.co.za