Juxtaposing two long-time friends and artists dissimilar in both medium and subject matter at the Bellhaus Atelier and Galerie, the exhibition is named to underscore the contrast between Van Vuuren’s fine ceramic creations and the often sharp nature of Johnston’s photographic commentary. In Van Vuuren’s offering, which features a collection of beautifully wrought earrings, tulip vases, a pink anemone teapot and a gold ringed spirit bowl, the artist’s experience of the wider world is rendered in calm yet colourful gradients that recall nature. “The ceramic body of work I created for this exhibition was largely inspired by my recent trip to The Netherlands and the United Kingdom,” says Van Vuuren in her artist’s statement.
“The unusual flower and colour combinations of the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, antiquities of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Delft porcelain, the elegance and refinement of manor house gardens in England and Roman-British pottery played an active part in the vibrant, yet gentile layers represented in these porcelain vessels.” Connoting simplicity, leisure, refinement and a state of being that allows for some fragility, Van Vuuren’s collection complements but differs from the work of Johnston, whose photography is a diverse selection of satire, portraiture, landscapes, conceptual photography and homage. In a series titled ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, Johnston takes aim at religion and political manifestos.
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