Dion Cupido, Bastiaan van Stenis and Hannelie Coetzee explores human’s relationships with each other and nature in new exhibitions at Lizamore

Dion Cupido, Bastiaan van Stenis and Hannelie Coetzee open solo exhibitions at Lizamore

In May, Lizamore & Associates presents solo exhibitions by Dion Cupido and Bastiaan van Stenis in association with Worldart Gallery in Cape Town, and a solo exhibition with Johannesburg-based artist Hannelie Coetzee. These exhibitions open on 3 May at 18:00 at Lizamore & Associates Gallery in Johannesburg with an opening performance by ActOne.

In your image by Dion Cupido questions the artist’s own relationship with women. In this body of work Cupido explores his own desire to draw closer to and simultaneously feel the need to run from females. This body of work stems from the notion that a child’s first relationship is with their mother and this is a man’s introduction to women. “I believe as we go through life the people we interact with leaves marks on us. The first mark left on a child is made by his/her mother. It is through tagging and writing that I try to resolve my feelings around this issue in an almost abstract sense,” Cupido explains.

Bastiaan van Stenis’ exhibition, Sometimes what happens, is seated in societies perception of reality. The paintings mix human and animal form and are a mediation on our perceptions and understanding of our own relationship to the natural world. Conceptually, these works are derivative from the idea of metaphorical ‘masks’ people choose, and are sometimes forced, to wear in society. These ‘masks’ are the way through which people present themselves to the world. Van Stenis interrogates the essence of being human and who humans pretend to be in society.

Hannelie Coetzee continues her exploration of the fragile relationship between humans and nature in Synanthrope Series II. A synanthrope refers to an animal or plant that lives near and benefits from an association with humans and the artificial habitats that humans create around them – like an urban environment. Coetzee urges viewers to consider their own impact on nature and to rethink how mankind will live with limited natural resources well into the future. Made from reclaimed materials, her artworks become a vehicle outside and inside the gallery to expand this conversation around the de-romanticization of the urban landscape and the incorporation of integrity back into natural resources, highlighting the ever-present link between human, nature and land.

These exhibitions open on Thursday 3 May 2018 at 18:00 and will run until 26 May 2018 at Lizamore & Associates Gallery (155 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg).

Ends

For media enquiries:

Suen Muller

011 880 8802 / suen@lizamore.co.za