Johannesburg

Michael Meyersfeld and Michael Vickers: 'Scapeland' at W17 Gallery

May 16 - Aug 9 2024       24 Cradock Ave, Rosebank
share
They share a first name, and they're sharing gallery walls for Scapeland; a dual exhibition where works by photographer Michael Meyersfeld and fine artist Michael Vickers are brought into a fascinating conversation. 

The exhibition is hosted by W17 Gallery, an innovative art platform that is part of shared workspace Workshop17. Showing on the first floor of Workshop17 The Bank in Rosebank, these distinct yet related bodies of work speak to the ways humans interact with and shift the landscape – both literally and metaphorically.

Despite the imposing urban materiality that backdrops many of Meyersfield's images, one is struck by the resilience of nature. Life emerges from and coexists with the industrial in his photographs, whether it's lilies growing along a steel fence or a tree trunk surrounded not by a forest floor, but by concrete and pebbles. Against this brutalist urbanity, nature sings a quiet song of hope. 
 
Bent Tree by Michael Meyersfeld is a curious meditation on the urban vs. natural. Photo: W17 Gallery.

Contrastingly, Vickers' paintings and charcoal drawings have a surreal, dreamlike quality and highlight our society's encroachment on the natural environment. A street light stands sentinel in front of a mountainous landscape, while in other works a seemingly untouched piece of veld has a small piece of tarred road visible in the foreground. These beacons of urban life take on a distinct personality in relationship to wild nature. 
 
Michael Vickers's painting Silver Sage prompts quiet reflection. Photo: W17 Gallery.

Seeing these two artists' work in tandem teases out the tension between the built and natural environment and, with any luck, will change the way you look at weeds growing out of cracks in the pavement forever. 

Scapeland opens at W17 Gallery (on the first floor of Workshop 17 The Bank at 24 Cradock Avenue, Rosebank, above Proud Mary) on Thu, May 16 from 17:30. RSVP to claudia@workshop17.com

Date

Venue

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri 07:30–18:00, Closed Sat, Sun. May 16 2024 - Aug 9 2024
Workshop17 The Bank
24 Cradock Ave, Rosebank

Price/Additional Info

Free entrance

Website

www.instagram.com/workshop17za/
Put our app in your pocket
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here. AGREE
Top