The system of art galleries in South Africa needs to change. This is according to Lindsay Klein, curator and collector of the current exhibition at Oude Leeskamer in Stellenbosch.
Klein was talking during a walkabout of What I Talk About When I Talk About Collecting, an exhibition at Oude Leeskamer, curated by Klein. SMF News attended the event on 8 March.
“The gallery structure needs to shift,” said Klein, who is in the process of launching her own gallery in Cape Town.
The entrance to the Oude Leeskamer gallery and the name of the exhibition, What I Talk About When I Talk About Collecting. The painting is You need to ask someone else by Marolize Southwood, and the exhibition will be open until 3 May, according to Oude Leeskamer’s website. PHOTO: Anke Spies
According to Klein, the art world is still very “elitist”, and while art scenes may seem open to the public, there are invisible barriers that especially hinder young people from getting involved.
“Why should people have to pay to see art in South Africa?” asked Klein, who will use her gallery as both a workspace and a “shared space” by making it free and open to the public on certain days.
Klein has over 20 years of collecting experience and will officially open Beryl Gallery, so called after her middle name, on 15 March.
Clara Babette, curator at the Oude Leeskamer gallery, said that the environment in Beryl is distinct from traditional art galleries.
“When you walk into Beryl it’s like walking into a friend’s home,” said Babette.
An exhibition currently on view at Oude Leeskamer gallery, What I Talk About When I Talk About Collecting, was curated by Lindsay Klein. PHOTO: Anke Spies
“I do not want to deconstruct [the art scene], I just want to add to it,” said Klein, who thinks it is important that art collecting moves away from being limited to wealthy older people; she wants young people to connect with art.
Engaging with art
“I collect because I recognise in each piece the soul of a familiar,” said Klein in the exhibition catalogue.
Two photographs in Klein’s collection are self-portraits taken by Wandie Mesatywa. These photographs serve as an exploration of the artist’s idea of identity.
This is according to Mesatywa, whose photography of himself as the nude subject is a journey that started four years ago.
“I am gay, you see me how you want to see me,” said Mesatywa on his decision to be nude in the photographs. “You already strip me anyway.”
Wandie Mesatywa (left) and Lindsay Klein (right) discussing Mesatywa’s photographs at the walkabout on Saturday, 8 March. PHOTO: Anke Spies
Mesatywa used empty boxes he found in Woodstock as accompaniments in his photos and said his work often explores seemingly mundane objects and their significance.
The exhibition at the Oude Leeskamer will be open to the public until 3 May, and will have a ‘rehang’ at the end of March where new art is presented.