Absa Gallery, Joburg, to host Sandra Hanekom exhibition

The Absa Gallery, Absa Towers North, 161 Main Street, Joburg, will host a solo exhibition of the award-winning artist Sandra Hanekom, entitled "Sublime Purgatory And The Splendour Of Menace" between 8 and 22 September, 2011.

The works created for this exhibition display a private devotion to the ideals of beauty as well as the artist's need to undermine sublime visual harmony.

Hanekom said: "The works may be described as 'satirical sermons against the virtuosity of superficial beauty'. This exhibition exemplifies my obsession with morbid beauty and the subjective nature of the visual narrative. I have a vehement personal approach to creating works and an uncompromising belief in creative seclusion. Subjective austerity and loneliness, for me, help maintain a sense of mystery and imagination and prevent the monotonous regurgitation of artistic doctrine."

The folly of accepting the obvious

To this end, the works contained in "Sublime Purgatory And The Splendour Of Menace" are visually seductive. The castigation of the viewer's folly of accepting the obvious is delivered through visual duality and uncanny pictorial combinations.

"Through following Sandra's career, after her participation in the Absa L'Atelier, it has become apparent that Sandra's indulgence in a monastic creative process where her sensitive application of paint informs her subversion of contemporary society's notion of superficial beauty. This exploration not only subverts, but questions conventional notions of beauty in a society that revels in instant gratification and immediate beautification. It is great to welcome Sandra back to the Absa Gallery and to be able to host this unique exhibition," said Dr Paul Bayliss, Absa art and museum curator.

Bring ID books

Hanekom has worked full time as an artist since 1994, and has been included in numerous group exhibitions and has had solo shows in Gauteng and the Western Cape. She has also had curatorial experience and has served on the boards of the Durbanville Cultural Society, the East London Art Society and the Bellville Arts Board.

The exhibition will be open from 8.30am to 4pm daily and entrance is free. Members of the public are requested to bring their ID books along for parking and entry purposes.