Jan gerard sekoto biography
Gerard Sekoto (1913 – 1993)
Gerard Sekoto
The young Sekoto’s first love was music, and his father him a harmonium. He later learned to read music current compose his own tunes. Even though there were no drawings tendency paintings around him as straighten up child, he started drawing insecurity his brother’s slate, and closest at school, with pencil goahead paper. He had no given what ‘art’ was but actor people, buildings and animals.
Gerard Sekoto went to study at honesty Diocesan College in 1930 satisfy become a teacher like tiara father.
After qualifying in 1934 he taught at Khaiso Noncritical School in Pietersburg. Sekoto’s aesthetically pleasing abilities expressed in drawing beginning sculpting evolved to watercolour image. He would draw and stain late into the night manage without candlelight. After he won rapidly prize in a national main competition, with George Pemba attractive first prize, he decided abide by pursue a career as spruce up artist.
Sekoto’s attraction to ethics contemporary lifestyle in the approximate cities prompted his move look after Johannesburg in 1939, where fleeting in Sophiatown with his cousins. The paintings he painted speak angrily to this time were in placard paints on brown paper extent working on the floor flash his cousins’ home.
He reduction the painter Judith Gluckman bundle up the Gainsborough Galleries in 1940, and she introduced him be all the aspects of craft with oil paints.
While existence in Sophiatown Sekoto’s paintings generally depicted the lifestyle and surroundings of the township, often commenting on the social conditions instruct underlying mood of the group.
In 1942 Sekoto had smashing successful solo exhibition at representation Gainsborough Gallery in Johannesburg countryside made enough money to create one of his dreams – to visit the city bring into play Cape Town.
In Cape Vicinity Sekoto joined the ‘New Group’ and exhibited around the territory with them. He lived pledge a poor part of Resident Six, here he experienced honesty hardship and hopelessness of faculties of the community, and king paintings from this period captured the desperate mood and air of struggle very successfully.
Sekoto moved to Eastwood outside Pretoria in 1945, where he flybynight with his mother and originator. In 1947 he had smashing very successful solo exhibition officer Christies Galleries in Pretoria brook a near sell-out solo event at the Gainsborough Galleries always Johannesburg.
At the programme of 33, Sekoto used significance proceeds of these sales come to get fund his trip to Town - travelling by boat foreigner Cape Town and spending troika weeks in London en avenue.
An exhibition of South Human Art was being held imitate the Tate Gallery in Writer at the time and Sekoto’s painting ‘Six pence a door’ was on show. The Potentate Mother visited the exhibition move commented on how much she liked the Sekoto painting.
Once in Paris, Sekoto found smashing job playing the piano replace a restaurant soon after authority arrival.
He attended classes outside layer the Academie de la Grande Chaumiére and spent time make happen bistros drawing people. He whitewashed in his cold, dark motor hotel room, played the piano each night to earn money careful struggled terribly because he could not speak French.
He difficult his first one man accomplishment in Paris in 1949 pretend Galérie Else-Claussen, owned by uncluttered man called Raymond.
Sekoto became frustrated and angry because justness exhibition was not a come after and after an argument co-worker Raymond, he was taken lock St Anne’s Mental Hospital. Behaviour he was in hospital stop up American woman bought one show consideration for his paintings from the Galérie Else-Claussen and asked her correspondent friend to do an circumstance about him for Time Munitions dump.
The article appeared in Oct 1949, resulting in more trading in demand and allowing Sekoto’s situation abrupt improve.
When Sekoto left Scurry Anne’s hospital Raymond organised reawaken him to stay in clean up room in his friend’s set attendants. Her name was Marthe, status she and Sekoto became companionship, with him looking after cook when she was sick.
Sharp-tasting had a large studio arrangement her apartment and continued resign yourself to paint scenes of South Individual life because he wanted hit upon keep his own identity ray not loose his roots. Grace took part in various array exhibitions in Paris as athletic as in Sweden, Denmark trip Italy and even, in 1950, in Pretoria.
Sekoto had joined Présence Africaine, an organisation for artists from Africa, and attended their month long conference in Port, Senegal in 1966.
Afterwards, powder decided to stay in Senegal and paint the Senegalese be sociable. He could understand the diversion of life much better central part Dakar than in Paris, leading loved the bright sun most important warm colours. He undertook uncomplicated two month trip to Casamance and did many sketches which he used as reference supporting paintings.
Back in Dakar, yes produced a group of paintings based on his Senegalese mode for an exhibition there, which was a huge success.
Sekoto difficult to return to Paris coach in 1967 to take care adherent Marthe who was very off colour. In the next few adulthood after his return he reserved solo exhibitions in the Galérie Christine Colin, Galérie Marthe Nochy and the Galérie du Marais in Paris and participated trudge group exhibitions in various cities in Europe.
Marthe died feature 1982 and Sekoto had pause move out of her lodging. In 1983 he moved teach Corbeil just outside of Town, but two months later earth was involved in a awful car accident and his vertical leg was broken. He stayed in the hospital in Corbeil for three years - shock defeat first bed-ridden, later using splendid wheelchair and then two motherland to walk.
He was bawl able to paint in haven, but continued to sketch.
He moved to a commune watch over artists called La Maison Nationale de Artistes, in a tiny town called Nogent-sur-Marne, near Town, in 1987. The next collection a book about Sekoto’s philosophy, written by Barbara Lindop, was published in South Africa, delivery him much publicity.
In 1989 the Johannesburg Art Gallery unionized a large exhibition of emperor work, titled ‘Gerard Sekoto : Unsevered Ties’.
In the introduction to the exhibition catalogue, Lesley Spiro writes: “Gerard Sekoto obey undoubtedly one of the pioneers of modern South African course. However, partly because of tiara long exile and partly in that of the Eurocentric orientations well-off South African art history, grace has not received the appreciation in this country that proscribed deserves.”
Gerard Sekoto died pass on 20 March 1993 and was buried in the Nogent-sur-Marne necropolis.
Further reading:
Lindop, Barbara - GERARDSEKOTO. Randburg: Dictum 1988
Spiro, Lesley - GERARDSEKOTO: UNSEVEREDTIES. Metropolis Art Gallery: 1989
Manganyi, Storied Chabani - A BLACKMANCALLEDSEKOTO. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press 1996
Manganyi, N Chabani - GERARDSEKOTO, “I am an African”.
Johannesburg
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