The Southern Guild in Cape Town is pleased to announce “In the Present Tense“, a captivating exhibition of enamel-on-glass paintings by contemporary South African artist Jozua Gerrard, on view until 07 November 2024.
These large-scale works celebrate solitary figures, frozen in moments of plenitude and restraint, and testify to an evolution towards a more nuanced and introspective gaze. The South African artist’s figurative series focuses on the simplification and essentialization of forms, whether human or inanimate, while being guided by a rich articulation of colour, thoughtful compositions and a profound reflection on contemporary culture.
With their bold flatness, shimmering hues and striking sharpness, Jozua Gerrard’s creations reveal a strange, dreamlike vision of reality. The figures stand on fields of bright, saturated colours, while a minimal circular point links these worlds: sometimes it becomes a figurative element, like an orange in a basket or the sun illuminating the sky; at other times it is pure abstraction, a simple note of solid colour. This device plays on visual perceptions and perspective, awakening our awareness to the semiotic codes that structure the way we observe and interpret the world around us.
Born in Cape Town in 2001, Jozua Gerrard imposes an incisive reflection on our post-digital world, questioning the omnipresent power of social media in our lives. He embodies a generation shaped to seek out pleasurable experiences, transformed into visual rituals for virtual exhibitions. His art is a unique fusion of lived experience, influences from American Pop Art and French Nouveau Réalisme, and an algorithmic consumption of digital images. His paintings, with their smooth surfaces and reflective lacquers, subtly evoke the screens that feed our daily lives.
In “In the Present Tense”, the evolution of the artist’s signature mask motif is particularly striking. Whereas the characters in her earlier works wore red masks with horns, the new series presents stripped-down masks in softer shades of coral pink. Although the faces remain largely veiled, psychological narratives emerge through a subtle economy of bodily expression. The curve of a head, the softening of a mouth or the posture of the hands convey the emotional depth of these figures. Jozua Gerrard skilfully plays with ambiguity, placing the creator and the viewer in a game of interpretation. Her characters, far from being confined to rigid dualities, reveal multiple identities, offering more space for change and redefinition of the self.
The solitude of the characters in the works of this contemporary South African artist reflects his deep commitment to introspection and observation. The tight framing offers a voyeuristic experience, creating an intimacy reminiscent of the parasocial bond we might feel towards a celebrity or social media personality. The viewer is plunged into moments of ordinary life, such as that of a woman sitting in her bedroom, hair wrapped in a towel, whose darkened face and relaxed shoulders evoke the serenity of moments of personal care. Another work shows a silhouette on a green hill, a blue sky reminiscent of the famous Windows XP wallpaper, a symbol of his childhood nostalgia.
The hyper-stylisation of these paintings gives the impression that the conscious bodies are posing, as models would in front of a camera. Jozua Gerrard’s practice is enriched by his own digital creation processes: he starts with reference photographs, featuring friends and models in carefully chosen settings. These images are then reworked on an iPad before being handmade on enamelled glass. In this way, his works become simulacra of their originals, questioning the nature of authenticity and reality while shedding light on the impact of media and technology on our perception of the world. Even the most banal objects take on a new dimension, revealed by the South African artist’s unique sensibility.
“In the Present Tense“, a title inspired by Alex Katz, a major influence for Jozua Gerrard, evokes his quest to paint the present moment, capturing the energy and colour of life in a unique setting. The works explore themes of identity and nostalgia, tracing our evolution in the face of the realities of the virtual world.