Almost 50 years after Irma Stern’s death in 1966, the Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG) presents a new exhibition that marks the first dedicated showing of the complete holdings of her work in the Iziko Permanent Collections.

Brushing Up on Stern explores the extraordinary rise in popularity of this South African painter who was active during the first half of the 20th century. As Hayden Proud, acting director of Iziko Art Collections notes: “Stern’s fearless determination to express the individuality of her vision in the face of the timid, if not hostile, parochialism of the South African art scene of her day is seen in her assertive and creative exploitation of the sensuous richness and luscious materiality of her chosen media, applied with fresh, expressive immediacy and confident generosity.

“For all of her debatable faults and shortcomings as a “colonial artist” she was yet a pioneering modernist whose boldness, invention and colour.”

Stern’s evolving success is illustrated by a superb selection of well-known artworks from the Iziko Permanent Collection and a number of private collections. Twenty-two oil paintings, numerous gouaches and drawings on paper, as well as the proofs of her first German publication will set the context for the exhibition. Props that Stern employed in her works – African carvings, fabrics, fashion and ceramics – will also be on display.

Stern’s rise in popularity and growing international acclaim in the present century has fired a re-evaluation of her work. New research on the artist and her position in an African context will be presented; in addition; the Islamic/Arabic influences in the work will also be examined.

An intention is to explore the current attraction to her work, as well as earlier antipathy to it through visual and archival records. Reference will be made to Irma Stern’s original ledgers, correspondence and old press clippings surrounding the controversial acquisition of her work by the South African National Gallery in the mid-1960s.

Visitors to the exhibition are also invited to the UCT Irma Stern Museum in Cecil Road, Rosebank, to view the artist’s house and collections, some of which form part of this exhibition, which runs from July 24 to November 1.

UCT Irma Stern Museum opening hours: Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. (Closed on Mondays and Sundays). Entrance R20. Tea and coffee will be on sale at R20.00 in pop-up tearoom.

Further information can be obtained from the Curators at Iziko Art Collections: Carol Kaufmann via email at ckaufmann@iziko.org.za or Andrea Lewis at alweis@iziko.org.za

NEED TO KNOW

Iziko Museums of South Africa (Iziko): Iziko operates 11 national museums, the Planetarium, the Social History Centre and three collection specific libraries in Cape Town.

The museums that make up Iziko have their own history and character, presenting extensive art, social and natural history collections that reflect our diverse African heritage.

Visit the webpage at www.iziko.org.za, like the Facebook page: IzikoMuseums or follow them on Twitter @Iziko_Museums for regular updates on events, news and new exhibitions.

NEED TO KNOW

Irma Stern: Stern was born in Schweitzer-Renecke, a little town found in Transvaal, Gauteng, from German-Jewish parents. In 1913, Stern studied Art in Germany at the Weimar Academy, in 1914 at the Levin-Funcke Studio and notably from 1917 with Max Pechstein, a founder of the Novembergruppe.

She was associated with the German Expressionist painters of this period. Stern held her first exhibition in Berlin in 1919. After this Stern and her family returned to Cape Town – her earliest following started in Europe, while most of her work went unappreciated at first in South Africa. Stern only gained a South African following in the 1940s.

Stern travelled extensively in Europe; southern Africa and central Africa. These trips inspired many of Stern’s paintings and these expeditions resulted in a wealth of artistic creativity and energy as well as the publication of two illustrated journals Congo published in 1943; and Zanzibar in 1948.

In Stern’s lifetime, she hosted almost 100 solo exhibitions in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Europe.