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Louw's paintings, oils executed with economy of colour and tone,
are mostly untitled and explore anonymous, non-specific male figures
in shades of grey, red and pale yellow. They become increasingly
more abstract as he grapples with the threatening domain of psychological
and political menace and intrigue, all the more frightening in
its absence of specified time and place.
Louw's more recent work broadens his metaphoric use of images
to include scenes derived from the austere landscape of the central
Karoo. The artist has spent most of his working life lecturing
in painting at Stellenbosch University and later teaching at the
Foundation School of Art in Observatory. His works hang in significant
private and public collections in South Africa and abroad.
Born 1965
Art Education
1985 -
Commence BA Fine Arts, University of Stellenbosch.
1988 -
Graduate BA Fine Arts, cum laude,University of Stellenbosch.
1989 -
Commence B. Hons, University of Stellenbosch.
1990 -
March - B. Hons, cum laude, University of Stellenbosch.
1990 -
Commence M.A. (Fine Arts), University of Stellenbosch.
1992 -
March - Masters Degree, Fine Arts, cum laude, University of Stellenbosch.
Exhibitions and Awards.
1987 -
Rolfes Student Art exhibition, Cape Town. Santam
Student Art Bursary.
Maggie Laubser Bursary.
1988 -
Rolfes Student Art - Merit Award - Durban. Volkskas
Ateliers - Merit Award - Pretoria.
Maggie Laubser Bursary.
1989 -
Volkskas Ateliers, Pretoria 'Nudes' exhibition, SAAA, Cape Town.
HSRC Bursary for postgraduate studies.
1990 -
'Critics Choice' exhibition, SAAA, Cape Town.
Various group exhibitions in Paarl, Stellenbosch.
1991 -
The Triennale exhibition, SANG.
Standard Bank Drawing Competition, Cape Town.
1992 -
Part-time lecturer (Painting).
US Group exhibition. Somerset West Staff exhibition,
US
1993 -
Part-time lecturer (Painting), US.
Temporary teaching post (Silkscreening), March - June, Paarl Art Centre
Group exhibitions in Paarl, Worcester.
1994 -
Part-time lecturer (Painting), US.
Part-time teaching (Painting, Printmaking), Foundation School
of Art.
'Displacements' exhibition - South African works on paper, Chicago
(curators: David Bunn, Jane Taylor). Staff exhibition, US.
1995 -
Part-time teaching (Painting, Printmaking), Foundation School
of Art, Cape Town.
'Committee's Choice'- Group exhibition - SAAA, Cape Town.
Group exhibitions in Stellenbosch and Bellville.
1996 -
Part-time teaching (Painting, Printmaking & Life Drawing),
Foundation School of Art, Cape Town. Group exhibition,
Dorp Street Gallery, Stellenbosch. 'Portraits' group
exhibition, The Planet Contemporary Art Site, Cape Town.
Volkskas Ateliers exhibition, Pretoria. Group exhibition,
Primart Gallery, Cape Town. Group exhibition,
Labia Gallery, Cape Town.
First one-man exhibition, Association for Visual Arts (AVA), Cape Town.
1997 -
Part-time teaching (Painting, Printmaking & Life Drawing),
Foundation School of Art, Cape Town.
Three-man show - Primart, Claremont, Cape Town.
'Unplugged II' - group exhibition, (so-called 'soft curating')
- Rembrandt Gallery, Newtown.
'Love' group exhibition (artwork in collaboration with Clare Menck)
- The Lounge (organised by Peet Pienaar).
'Die Ses: A Sculptural Requiem' group exhibition (in collaboration
with Clare Menck), Zonnebloem Estate / District Six, Cape Town.
'Cyst: Works in Paint' - self-initiated and co-curated (in collaboration
with Clare Menck) - national group exhibition as fringe
event to mainstream Biennale in Cape Town (Good Hope Gallery,
Castle 27 October - 5 December 1997) and Johannesburg (Sandton
Civic Gallery 17 December 1997 - 10 February 1998).
'Summer Salon', group exhibition - Rose Korber - Cape Town.
Group exhibition, launching Trent Read's Knysna Fine Art, Knysna.
1998 -
'Private Histories' - group exhibition of South African art, curated
by Ruth Sack, München, Germany.
Second One-man Show, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town.
"Garob", Knysna Fine Art, Knysna.
"Vital Signs", Group Exhibition curated by Leanne Crispe,
Canberra School of Art, National University, Australia.
"Landscape" Group Exhibition curated by Srijdom van
der Merwe, SAAA, Bellville.
"Summer Salon" Rose Korber, Bay Hotel, Camps Bay.
1999 -
Third One-man show - Everard Read, Rosebank, Johannesburg.
Group show - "Postcards from SA", Axis Gallery, New
York, USA.
Fourth One-man show - Harris Fine Art.
2000 -
Group shows - Johannesburg.
2001 -
Fifth One-man show - Everard Read, Cape Town.
2002 -
Three man show - Julia Meintjies, Tokara, Stellenbosch.
2003 - Sixth one-man show - Everard Read, Johannesburg.
Group show - Strydom Gallery, George.
2004 -
"New Identities" - Group Show of South African artists,
Bochum, Germany.
2005 -
"Recent and not so recent paintings by Johann Louw"
- Seventh one-man show - Irma Stern,
Cape Town.
Collections
South African National Gallery, Cape Town
Johannesburg National Gallery, Gauteng
Durban National Gallery, Natal
Sasol Art Collection, Stellenbosch
Pepkor
Nasional Pers, Cape Town
De Kock & Kerkhoff
Barclays plc
Sanlam
Old Mutual, London
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
ABSA Bank Ltd
Cazenove, SA
J. P. Morgan Ltd
Bochum Kunsthalle, Germany
Also various private collections in South Africa and
abroad.
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