Dassenberg Road, Franschhoek, 7690

7 December 2024 - 5 January 2025

This collection of Lionel Smit's paintings and bronze sculptures opens on the 7th of December, 2024.

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Permanence: A Journey Through Form, Time, and Materiality

The exhibition Permanence delves into the exploration and establishment of form, drawing inspiration from painters Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach. These artists’ techniques of applying thick, textured layers of paint to reveal the passage of time have profoundly influenced Smit’s artistic approach. Their method of revisiting, rethinking, and reimagining form over time resonates deeply within this collection.

In Permanence, Smit examines the emergence of permanence through a meticulous process of layering and reworking. His study of form evolves slowly, capturing the essence of time’s accumulation in physical paint. The interplay between his sculptural practice and painting is evident, with the two mediums merging seamlessly. This convergence brings a new dimension to his oil paintings, where manipulating the canvas creates windows into alternate realms that occupy tangible space.

The collection embodies Smit’s dedication to the craft, his exploration of materiality, and his enduring fascination with the permanence of form and time.

Permanence runs from 7 December 2024 at Everard Read | Leeu Estates in Franschhoek. For more information about the exhibition, contact Ivana Maarschalk at Ivana@everard.co.za.

Everard Read at Leeu Estates

Everard Read is South Africa's oldest and largest group of galleries. Established in 1913 in Johannesburg, the Everard Read galleries are specialists in contemporary art from South Africa and the diaspora. The Everard Read galleries can be found in Johannesburg, Cape Town, London and Franschhoek.

Everard Read at Leeu Estates is the Everard Read Galleries latest offering. Opened in November 2020, the space serves as a gallery and sculpture park. The focus is on showing monumental sculpture amongst the breath-taking fynbos and vineyards of Leeu Estates, as well as exhibiting important works by our artists in the superb purpose-built gallery on site. The Fynbosch Quarter, where the new gallery is located, was designed by DHK architects, who also designed the Norval Foundation.

For inquiries at Everard Read at Leeu Estates:

lulu@everard.co.za
ivana@everard.co.za

Dassenberg Road, Franschhoek, 7690
T: 021 492 5980
www.everard-read-franschhoek.co.za

Opening hours:
Tuesday – Sunday | 10:00 - 17:00
Please contact us to make an appointment outside of these hours.