CHANGING LANES | DAVID YARROW | DAVILLE BAILLE GALLERY | HYDE PARK CORNER

The Daville Baillie Gallery proudly presents Changing Lanes, a solo exhibition by world famous photographer David Yarrow. Scottish-born Yarrow is a contemporary master of large format photography, reflecting on the interstices between the animal kingdom and the human world.

In extraordinary, staged visual dramas Yarrow is able to reignite our love of Hollywood iconography. His new contexts, given to well-known characters, redefine our understanding of cinema and celebrity.

Our exhibition of Changing Lanes contains a specially selected range of images, made by the artist himself. Images shot in Sub Saharan Africa, as well as visceral landscapes of the herding of animals in the north, remind us that the planet is shared by all.

Pamela Anderson, Cara Delavigne, Cindy Crawford and Jordan Belfort (the real Wolf of Wall Street) are some the stars on show.

SCAPEGOAT | group exhibition | Daville Baillie Gallery | Hyde Park Corner | until 30 April

Bram Reijnders | Cecile Plaisance| Dorit Levenstein |Emanuele Tozzoli | Fringe | Janko de Beer | Max Ferrigno | NEP- | Plastic Jesus | Punk Me Tender | Reka Nyari | Stephane Gubert

Scapegoat is an international group exhibition of figurative art, devoted to a diverse selection of artists whose works reflect on culpability and innocence, in relation to the urban landscape.

The Daville Baillie Gallery presents an astounding collection of works, by an equally impressive conglomerate of artists who are exclusive to the gallery, and who have excelled in the international world of contemporary art.  

Innocence expressed through the eyes of the child, or youthful innocence features large in portraits painted in the present tense. Here we have the cartoon-inspired artworks of Fringe (SA), Alex Monopoly (US), Auguste (France), Bram Reijnders (Netherlands) and Max Ferrigno (Italy). As Ferrigno, a new presence at the gallery, puts it: “My characters live in old abandoned houses, surreal circus tents; [they are] old characters from cartoons from my childhood, who in my world have been subjected to psychophysical alterations.”

Just the opposite applies to the nu-Pop heroines of contemporary figurative art and photography: Reka Nyari (Finland/US) and Cecile Plaisance (France) are feminist artists reflecting on women as underdogs and scapegoats, taking the blame for their own stereotyping while being victims of male dominance. 

More expressionistic views of alternative characters who thrive on the city streets, and who are often found on the edge of the city, are shown in the paintings of Emanuele Tozzoli (Italy) and NEP- (France). As NEP, who often paints directly into urban spaces, says about his street-inspired expressionism, “[My art] translates the chaos of a reality in constant motion, it captures a childish trait, fun, playful, which passes totems and puppets, fantasies and dreams, making disturbing laughter and panic laughable.”

Animalistic Fantasy meets reality in the works of Janko de Beer (SA), Punk Me Tender (US/France) and Auguste (France), showing that we sometimes need our feelings translated into playful flights of fancy in order to make the harshness of the city livable.

Our exhibition, Scapegoat, looks at the wild side of the city, its diversity of characters, and the experiences that make it so eclectic, and electric.

FRINGE | Calculus of Joy | Daville Baillie Gallery
| Hyde Park Corner

Don’t over look Joy | 200cm x 200cm | oil on canvas | exhibition Calculus of Joy

FRINGE

Calculus of Joy

24 February to 31 March

Daville Baillie Gallery

Hyde Park Corner

The fourth solo exhibition by FRINGE is a calculated and raging success. Hyde Park Corner hasn’t seen anything quite like it in its five decades of existence. The marble clad spaces resound with the Fringe experience, investigating the visual essence of joy.

Most recent works reflect on the consumerism, and on human inter-connectedness. Perfect for a commercial space of movement, gaze and enjoyment.

Friendship, love, sexuality and procreation are the themes in which life-lessons are taught by pop characters of a fulfilled world. It’s an exhibition of Hope.

New moves by FRINGE include literal sculptures representing the condition of masculinity; as well as non-figurative installation that looks at the experience of manhood, and fatherhood, with a new narrative bent. Works show and help us feel the artist’s intention behind Calculus of Joy.

With this eagerly awaited follow-up from his sell-out solo exhibition in 2020, the Daville Baillie Gallery once again displays its ability to venture into new terrains. As an artist with a global presence, FRINGE is now represented on four continents. As this agile and adept artist moves his practice into the areas of bronze sculpture and large plastic pop iconography, he continues his output of canvases in oil, acrylic and charcoal, as well as unique works on paper, print series’ and installations.        

The exhibition is accompanied by a newly published, limited edition catalogue with edited selections from the journals of FRINGE. 

Hyde Park Corner, Corner Jan Smuts Avenue and William Nicol Drive, Hyde Park, Johannesburg    

[email protected]

“December / January”

Batman meets Fringe – private collection.

Up and coming exhibition by Fringe “Calculus Of Joy” starting 24th February 2022 at Hydepark corner presents some 70 new artworks including amazing characters such as  Star Lord, Captain America and Lord Voldemort will be on show.

[email protected]

Agnetha Sjögren

Playful and imaginative, Agnetha’s exquisitely hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind sculptures are sought after by art lovers and animal lovers alike. While the shape, stance and attitude of her dogs brings them to life, Agnetha uses their surfaces to tell vibrant stories, each one unique to its canine canvas. She is inspired by her love of art, and cites Giacometti, Grayson Perry, Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol among her influences. She is a passionate follower of comic book illustrators of the 20th century, particularly Tintin’s famous creator, Hergé.

Born in Sweden and now based in London, Agnetha enjoyed a successful career in design consultancy, working as an interior designer and going on to found her own cutting-edge design agency. This multi-disciplinary background gave her a strong grounding in both art and design, and put quality and sustainability at the heart of her creative thinking. Each of her dazzling handmade dogs – part Labrador, part Dalmatian, part cartoon – is authenticated with its personalised COA and story contained within a signed ‘mini passport’.

Agnetha’s distinctive sculptures have been featured in high-end magazines: Vogue, Home & Country, Elle and Design Week. They have enchanted audiences, making guest appearances at fashion shows  in New York and Moscow, and exhibited in the Rosewood Hotel London, IFC in Hong Kong and the Qingdao Sculpture Museum in China among others.

Her sculptures have been named on the Aesthetica Wish List alongside pieces by Stella McCartney, Louis Vuitton and Elin Høyland. Agnetha’s art can be found in the collections of famous private collectors, including Angelina Jolie and Jude Law.

It is our pleasure, as the Daville Baillie Gallery, to offer our esteemed collectors and clients the first range of Agnetha Sjögren sculptures in the country. Our exhibited pieces will include her most recent sculptures in bronze, some in pop-inspired colours and others with comic book finishes.

[email protected]

David Yarrow’s –  The Wolf of Wall street

Location: Los Angeles, USA 2019

Someone once said that the best pictures can be looked at for a very long time. On that level, this image wins. However, the key for me was to find out what the world’s most celebrated actor thought of this one snap shot in time. Without his approval, this photograph would lose some of its relevance. I was proud when he told me that it captured the very essence of Belfort.

We did it and I feel that we left nothing in the bucket in the conception and the execution. It is as good as I can do

Available for viewing at Daville Baillie Gallery
.
[email protected]

David Yarrow’s –  Ground Alert

Yarrow – The majesty in this Leopard’s eyes tells a rich story; they are filled with hunger and concentration.

Available for viewing at Daville Baillie Gallery
.
[email protected]

WELCOME ON BOARD | PHILIPPE SHANGTI | FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY EDITION SIZE 7 |

150CM X 150CM

Contemporary French photographer Philippe Shangti is known for his glamorous aesthetic, colorful sense of humor and a provocative aspect which seeks to break down taboos. Originally from Toulouse in the south of France, Shangti was selected in 2019 to represent his county at the 58th Venice Bienalle and currently has an exhibit on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Carcassonne, France. His work is highly sought after and has garnered the attention of investors and collectors worldwide.

FOR INFORMATION EMAIL

[email protected]

BLAZING SADDLES | DAVID YARROW | FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY EDITION SIZE 12 |

142CM X 223CM OR 93CM X 147CM

David’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever growing following amongst art collectors. His large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. He is now recognised as one of the best selling fine art photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.

FOR INFORMATION EMAIL

[email protected]

“Facsimile Series” by Fringe is currently on its eighth “piece” release. The series is comprised of 12 works which started in June 2020 and will end in June 2021 with a thirteenth bonus work to all box set collectors.

1. REDACTION – release June 2020
2. BELIEVING – release July 2020
3. PLAYTIME – release August 2020
4. THE BIG APPLE – release September 2020
5. IS ART REALLY ANYTHING YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH? – release October 2020
6. ELEVEN ELEVEN – release November 2020
7. MEIN EYGENE OIGEN – release December 2020
8. AUTHORITY VS VELOCITY – release January 2021
9. OUR ONLY TERM – release February 2021
10. A LEISURELY MANIFESTO – release March 2021
11. FTN – release May 2021
12. DON’T GET LOST – release June 2021

 FOR INFORMATION EMAIL

[email protected]

ROGER BALLEN | SMOKED OUT | ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT | 80CM X 80CM

Daville Baillie Gallery takes great pleasure inviting you to the opening of the exhibition

  ROGER THE RAT

by renowned photographer Roger Ballen

to coincide with the publication of his new book

on 6 December 2020

11am to 2pm

A selection of images from the artist’s series Roger the Rat will be exhibited until February 2021. The opening event, to coincide with the First Sundays gatherings at Victoria Yards, will include a launch of the book published by Hatje Cantz (Germany) and distributed by Jonathan Ball in South Africa.

ABOUT ROGER THE RAT

Released in the Year of the Rat, the photographic series and book Roger the Rat is surreal, refined and disturbing. Roger Ballen has made a name for himself with his special eye for what is usually considered minor or outside, yet is nevertheless profound and touching. In his hands, the documentary power of the camera merges with the ingenious power of his imagination to peer into the soul and get under the viewer’s skin. Elaborately produced between 2015 and 2020, his new project is fresh and, amazingly, alive with pop art elements

In impressive, sharp black-and-white shots, he follows the life of a creature whose body appears human, but who has the head of a rat. We witness absurd scenes that, deconstructed and wrested from everyday gestures, reveal the suppressed aspects of human existence.

ABOUT ROGER BALLEN

Born in New York City and living in South Africa since 1982, Roger is one of the most important and original art photographers working today. He is best known for his probing, often challenging images that exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation, and photography. His universally recognised style is now commonly referred to as a ‘Ballenesque’.

ROGER BALLEN | SMOKED OUT | ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT | 80CM X 80CM

Daville Baillie Gallery takes great pleasure inviting you to the opening of the exhibition

  ROGER THE RAT

by renowned photographer Roger Ballen

to coincide with the publication of his new book

on 6 December 2020

11am to 2pm

A selection of images from the artist’s series Roger the Rat will be exhibited until February 2021. The opening event, to coincide with the First Sundays gatherings at Victoria Yards, will include a launch of the book published by Hatje Cantz (Germany) and distributed by Jonathan Ball in South Africa.

ABOUT ROGER THE RAT

Released in the Year of the Rat, the photographic series and book Roger the Rat is surreal, refined and disturbing. Roger Ballen has made a name for himself with his special eye for what is usually considered minor or outside, yet is nevertheless profound and touching. In his hands, the documentary power of the camera merges with the ingenious power of his imagination to peer into the soul and get under the viewer’s skin. Elaborately produced between 2015 and 2020, his new project is fresh and, amazingly, alive with pop art elements

In impressive, sharp black-and-white shots, he follows the life of a creature whose body appears human, but who has the head of a rat. We witness absurd scenes that, deconstructed and wrested from everyday gestures, reveal the suppressed aspects of human existence.

ABOUT ROGER BALLEN

Born in New York City and living in South Africa since 1982, Roger is one of the most important and original art photographers working today. He is best known for his probing, often challenging images that exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation, and photography. His universally recognised style is now commonly referred to as a ‘Ballenesque’.

The Daville Baillie Gallery, at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg, is acutely aware of the dangers to the aged and disabled in Alexandra Township, in the present time of covid19.

In response we, and our devoted artists, are donating 50% of the proceeds of sales to the Alexandra Society for the Care and Welfare of the Aged and Disabled Persons. The renowned society – founded by Linda Twala, known as the ‘Father of Alex’ – is a cornerstone of the community, distributing vital aid to the needy.

Joining us in this campaign is our partner National Pride based in Soweto, a South African manufacturer and distributor of surgical masks and diapers, and other health and sanitary products. Ours is a developing support system that we are confident will benefit the aged and disabled, and their caregivers. These are people who may not be able to travel to commercial centers due to the present lockdown, health issues and financial constraints.

We at the Daville Baillie Gallery, with our artists and partners, are hugely concerned for the wellbeing of the aged and disabled communities in Alexandra township. We are hoping that by making these essential products available, we will alleviate burdens while acknowledging our shared destinies, in this time and in future. We will be exploring the possibility of taking this project forward, beyond the Covid-10 era.

We invite you to join us in ensuring the success of this important endeavour.

PROFILE OF NATIONAL PRIDE

National Pride (Pty) Ltd. is a proudly South African personal care business. A manufacturer of baby and adult diapers, as well as sanitary products, the company supplies both the local and export markets. The National Pride product stable includes the Baby Panda, Absorbers, Baby Time and Simply Dry brands.

DAVILLE BAILLIE GALLERY CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

FRINGE | Gift Msane | Jimmy Law | Nomvula Hoko | Luzuko Dayile | Nicolene Joffe | Andrew Ntshabele | Mfundo Mthiyane | Gerhard Buckholz | Xana Abreu | Steve Maphoso | Dumile Feni | Nep- | Auguste | Ari Hersch | Jason Bronkhorst | Joe Suzuki | Zolile Phetsane | Leila Batha | Solomon Mugutso Thabiso Dakamela.

The Daville Baillie Gallery

Daville Baillie Gallery

presents

NO SERIOUSLY

An extraordinary contemporary art experience by FRINGE, South Africa’s undisputed King of Pop

1 MARCH TO 2 APRIL 2020

We are pleased to announce that FRINGE’s new exhibition NO SERIOUSLY will happen in his resident gallery space in Johannesburg, the Daville Baillie Gallery in March.

South Africa is fortunate to have an artist of the ilk of FRINGE, a sly and exuberant commentator on the times in which we live.

The paintings, sculptures and prints created by FRINGE take as their beginning point the ubiquitous popular culture of a now-globalised world. The title of the show provides a clue as to the artist’s present outlook: an exploration of the tension between high art and commercial popularity.

FRINGE has a totally unique and fresh approach to comic characters and situations that people of all backgrounds, and cultures, can relate to. Mickey Mouse, Superman and Popeye are household names almost everywhere on earth. As brands they are valued in billions, and that is fair game for FRINGE.

His new works extend his major preoccupations: fame and fortune, and conspicuous consumption. Generally, the art of FRINGE takes into account the universal pop culture of aspiration and envy and turns it on its head. The clash of icons and symbols causes a resounding visual explosion that tickles the senses and leaves one reeling with delight.

NO SERIOUSLY will further the artist’s individualistic approach to exhibition, at Johannesburg’s acclaimed Victoria Yards art development. It will present a multi-layered, sensory experience intended to provoke and amuse.

The artworks of FRINGE have undergone a remarkable journey given that the artist is anonymous. The present collection bears testimony to his phenomenal rise as an enigmatic figure on the South African art landscape.

Interview with FRINGE

FEBRUARY 2020

What have you been doing since your last show?

Experimenting with notions of horror and humor, and thinking about what makes for good composition. Spending some time with my dealer from Europe just to kind of get the feel for the market there, like in Germany where things have gone quite well. We had two exhibitions in a great big schloss, it’s a public venue with the ability to host private exhibitions also.

But on a more serious note, I’ve been like in between issues in my life. On the one hand the drive to be an artist comes completely naturally to me, but on the other hand it sometimes feels like a wart that’s stuck on me somehow, that I need to get off.

I suppose that is why I went for the anonymity thing in the first place because I don’t really know if I’m cut out to be a major player in the art world as it is.

Well, what is it that puts you off? Have your reasons for being anonymous stayed consistent throughout the last five years that you’ve been producing work under this pseudonym?

Obviously, this way I don’t have to make any overtly personal or political statements.  Although there are some who say that all art is overtly personal and political. But in Jo’burg it all becomes very personal and that is something I am happy to stay away from: the social media and the need to talk about my work endlessly. That is what my gallery, the Daville Baillie Gallery is there for. I have the privilege of being able to just close myself off and dream up these epic paintings and sculptures. Sometimes I feel like the mad professor…

Let’s talk about what that is, these days, as you prepare for your third solo exhibition titled NO SERIOIUSLY.

Paintings about the size of a bedroom window. The proportion is very important to me because I do see my work in a domestic setting. I’m aware that they play with the decorative element of pop art but I also want them to be unsettling in a way that you can’t pin down. I want my pictures to remind you that you are alive, here and now, in the early 21^stCentury that is really still recovering from the 20^thCentury.

How does that work? Is it because what you’re doing is showing us the icons of our youth?

No, not only that. Yes, and that of course. But I have a feeling that this whole comic world seems to come across as something true to us because we are brought up with it from such a young age. And it is so much a part of our concentration and distraction as young people that we take it as a kind of basic truth. We just believe in the power of popular culture and we buy into it without asking questions about it. But at the same time it lies on the floor and gets trampled on in newspapers and comics. I like it when it gets elevated to a higher form of art – and that’s why I think I fit in with the Daville Baillie Gallery that has this iconography going on from artists all over the world.

And is that why the show is called NO SERIOUSLY?

Yes, for sure. It’s called NO SERIOUSLY because I am able to take all these heroes and anti-heroes that we don’t take very seriously and put them on the walls, framing them in the context of a more serious art.

BIOGRAPHY OF FRINGE

Born in 1976 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the artist who goes by the pseudonym Fringe was educated in the Natal Midlands. Thereafter he studied design in Cape Town.

After plying his trade with various agencies, in 2003 he shifted his focus to art production, experimenting with notions of objectivity and subjectivity within the confines of the gallery space.

In 2015, after more than a decade of success in advertising, Fringe moved to New York to absorb an alternate train of thought. With a newfound understanding of the importance of communication through street art, in 2016 he returned to South Africa to begin creating unique artworks based on pop symbols, advertising campaigns and graffiti techniques.

The year 2017 was a breakthrough for Fringe. In April he held his first solo exhibition at the Daville Baillie Gallery in Norwood, Johannesburg. And he began to gain wider recognition beyond South Africa and, with the support of an agent in Luxembourg he found an international base. His work has begun to sell in London and Amsterdam.

In September 2017 an artwork by Fringe was sold in London on an auction to benefit the African Ukuthemba Foundation. The work was auctioned by the Irish celebrity Graham Norton, and in the process the art of Fringe received extensive exposure abroad.

In 2018 he held a sold-out Solo exhibition with Desom Wine Estate in Luxembourg to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Porsche.

Fringe held his second, sold out solo exhibition, titled Don’t Blink, at the Daville Baillie Gallery at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg, in September 2018.

In October 2019 Fringe held a solo exhibition at the prestigious Schloss Monaise in Trier, Germany and a second artwork was auctioned in London and sold for a record high.

Bram Reijnders, Thrill of Life, mixed media, 2019