The annual Peep Show Exhibition showcasing the beauty and intricacy of miniature artworks, hosted by the East London Fine Art Society, opens on September 8.
The 98-year-old society showcases local and international art through its Annual Exhibition, the Peep Show Exhibition and the Anything but Paint Exhibition.
Each of these exhibitions challenges artists to step out of their comfort zones and create work that goes beyond what they usually do.
Manager and art curator of the Ann Bryant Art Gallery, Leon du Preez, said the Peep Show had grown to become quite popular, not only with artists in and around East London, but also with consumers of the art.
“The Peep Show Exhibition is where we encourage artists to do small and miniature works.
“It’s very difficult to paint in miniature works, so it challenges the artists to think out of the box and do something different.
“It has been running since the early sixties and it’s really an annual event that people know about.
“What is really great about it is that people sell smaller works of art.
“Its easier to sell, people have space for them in their houses to put them up and they have a jewel-like quality and they’re charming and sellable,” said Du Preez.
Sandra Thomas is one of the artists participating in this year’s Peep Show Exhibition.
Her work, which speaks of her journey, is titled: “In The Moment Follow Me Through The thicket (where) A Sense of Quiet (and) Rustling Leaves (bring us to) Finding Peace”.
“I have a long relationship with the Ann Bryant Gallery, having first exhibited there in 1981, so it is a great pleasure to have artworks included in this year’s Peep Show, and to see one of them on the invitation. I have submitted six drawings on stretched canvas that reveal my fascination and love of the Albany thicket, a region of spiny scrubland and low forest concentrated in the Eastern Cape.
“It is a wild, uninhabited place that offers me endless opportunities for exploration.
“I like to visit places where no-one else goes, and I try to portray the quietness there,” said Thomas.
The official opening of this year’s Peep Show Exhibition is on Friday September 8, at 6.30pm, at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery.
The showcase of little gems will run until September 23.
