‘The Line of Beauty’ by Morné Visagie
It’s always such an honour supporting local talent, especially young local talent who are taking the art world by storm. Morné Visagie is one such artist, who is currently showcasing his solo exhibition at WHATIFTHEWORLD gallery in Woodstock.
“…but he felt the relief of being alone as well…the forgotten solitude which measures and verifies the strength of an affair, and which, being temporary, is a kind of pleasure.”
Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty (2004)
In The Line of Beauty, his second solo exhibition with WHATIFTHEWORLD, Morné explores colour and the relationship colour has with itself and the space around it. He also explores how objects relate to one another in the same space; an encounter between a pink circle and a deep blue background.
His works on paper and sculptural collages appear as abstract notations, with distinct emphasis placed on form and colour. This results in a beautifully still and tranquil experience for the viewer – a meticulous body of work that reveals his strength and skill as both printmaker and sculptor.
Visagie’s use of colour and material is luxurious and sensuous; African Blackwood, marble, an elaborate flower arrangement, rich colours and gold ink, highly-polished brass and copper plates.
‘They suggest a luxury familiar to certain novels and films; luxury particular to fiction, untouched by the tedium of real life, inviolate. The material indulgence of the works distances them from the effect of the everyday.’
The Line of Beauty is a melancholy showcase of Morné’s interest in abstract forms, presence and absence, time and space and ultimate longing. It is excellent.
Photography Bernard Myburgh Words Lisa Wallace
cape town, featured, morné visagie, whatiftheworld, woodstock
