Open Studio on 12 Summer Street

Betty Phanzu
6 oct.
2 min de lecture

Lifestyle: Open Studio on 12 Summer Street

On September 28th, I visited an open studio exposition on 12 Summer Street, hosted by Olwethu De Vos and Thabiso Dakamela; two mixed media artists with their hearts on their sleeve.

"How intimate is it to host us in your sanctuary," I told Olwethu while chatting her up about the method behind the madness in her well lit and well decorated studio.

She sculpts and paints with cheeky confidence. Her work, which I was discovering for the first time, revolved around the female body. It is, in my opinion, a mixture of exhibitionism, expressionism, and futurism, celebrating body positivity and acceptance. As a girl's girl, her subjects come in different shapes and sizes and it was refreshing to see the female body showcased with admiration and respect.

Nude art often walks the line of provocation, but Olwethu's touch makes us witness the female experience behind the curtains.

A large mural combining "The Path to Self Discovery" and "The Change in Seasons" watercolour paintings caught my eye, as someone who has dipped her feet in the pool a couple of times (I am still a work in progress).

I admire her approach to life; on believing whatever it is that you ask for you have already received. In the wise words of the poet Rumi "That you are seeking, you are that".

Adjacent to her studio, was Thabiso's, which she encouraged me to visit too. The first thing that caught my eye was his library, and the two collector cars displayed on each side of a globe. As I was wandering through his space, a painting hidden behind others drew me closer. "Jazz Night" it said, on a painted banner. How ironic...

I'm always curious about what artists name their work, but Thabiso had a different approach: "not every piece of art needs a name", he told me.

Which reminds me of Antoine de Saint Exupéry's encouragement to take his book "Le Petit Prince" for what it is, and not over-analyse it (not every work of art is a protest against capitalism).

If I had to guess, I would say his style is a mixture of pop art and impressionism all in one. Thabiso is easy to talk to, very open about his creative process and craft, which he intends on mentoring by the way. His work ranges from charcoal sketches, to oil paintings, to acrylic paintings. It feels like he captures a moment, with the subjects sometimes standing still, sometimes hanging upside down, and sometimes dancing. He was kind enough to give me a thumbs up about my curated Jazz playlist, which you can find under BMW Art Generation blog post.

I left with a cool T-shirt and a story to tell.

What about you? How often do you shove your playlist down an artist's throat?

Let me know! I write back ;)

Oh, and of course, I've included a photo gallery so you can feel like you were in my pocket!