artSPACE durban is playing host to two new exhibitions: Reflections on Light and The Essence of Trees. Reflections on Light, a group exhibition of artists and scientists, runs at the gallery at 3 Millar Road, Durban, until August 29. Explaining how it came about, Karen Bradtka said the exhibition had been organised to focus on the fact that 2015 has been declared by the United Nations the International Year of Light.

“We have assembled scientists, mainly physicists and chemists from the University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus, to form partnerships with artists to work towards one artwork per artist that will be exhibited at artSPACE durban,” she added. “Our first meeting with the scientists took place on Wednesday, June 10 at artSPACE durban. This first meeting was designed for the artists to meet the scientists and to choose the particular theme and scientist to work with.

“The dialogue between the artist and the scientist over the intervening weeks directed the artists to produce a work that is a reflection of that particular conversation.”

The participants include: scientist Werner van Zyl and artist Ann-Marie Nason, scientist Thomas Konrad and artist Paulo Menezes, scientist  Neil Koorbanally and artist Dane Stops, scientist Mark Tame and artist Camilla Kinnear, scientist Giuseppe Pellicane and artist Pamela Benporath, scientist Tanja Reinhardt and artist Benjamin Perez, scientist Gareth Amery and artist Rob Mills, and artists Trui Roozeveld van der Ven and Karen Bradtke.
To coincide with the exhibition there will be an honours lecture in physics, by Prof Jonathan Blackledge (former Stokes Professor at Dublin Institute of Technology now DVC and Head of the Research Office of UKZN), from 9 am to 10.30 am on Friday, August 14. The theme is Encryption and Information Hiding.

And from 10.40 am to 12.10 pm Prof Francesco Petruccione (SARCHI Chair for Quantum Information Processing and Computation) will deliver a lecture on the theme: Quantum Optics & Quantum Information.

in the Middle Gallery is The Essence of Trees, a solo exhibition by Kim Wessels. Speaking about her work she said: “I am constantly striving to portray the essence of the tree, and enjoy the challenge of captivating various perspectives.

“My aim is to entice the observer to ‘step inside’ my paintings for a while and sense the sound, smell and feel of a beautiful forest….and is part of an ongoing journey to find simple methods of capturing the essence without painting the obvious.

“I keep my camera close to me on my travels, constantly photographing trees that I feel an empathetic connection to. Working from these photos enables me to tap into the essence that I am constantly searching for. ”

Wessels was born in the United Kingdom in 1957, and moved to South Africa in 1969. She married Johan in 1983 and has two children, John and Amy.  She lives in Hillcrest where she has her studio. She works predominantly in the medium of oil painting, but has a great love for printmaking.

artSPACE durban is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and on Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm. Inquiries: 031 312 0793 or www.artspace-durban.com