Rod Latent Light ,1991
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Exhibited :
Literature : Siebrits, Warren. (March 2009) Exit Ahead Push Trolley Now, Johannesburg. Illustrated, unpaginated.
Notes : Drawing is central to Karel Nel’s worldly, science-interested practice. “For me drawing has always been a kind of reconnaissance, a means to explore the world around me,” he has stated.1 This drawing was produced shortly after Nel returned to Johannesburg from an extended period abroad, notably at the University of California at Berkeley where he was a Fulbright Scholar (1988-89) and Simpson Fellow (1991). It evidences his accumulative style of drawing where “fugitive but precise” elements are layered to create the final composition.2 The work forms part of a series of drawings portraying rod-like objects. “The rod is a signifier of transition and power in many cultures,” says Nel, who is an accomplished scholar of sacral objects from pre-capitalist societies.3 The juxtaposition of the flare-like red object with a similarly scaled black rod is purposeful and speaks to the artist’s interest in mental (or eidetic) imagery. The work was acquired directly from Nel’s studio by architects Meyer Pienaar & Partners, and thereafter passed on.
1 Nel, Karel. (1999) Wedge, Johannesburg: Wits. Unpaginated catalogue for staff exhibition of Department of Fine Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, at NSA Gallery, Durban.
2 Burroughs, Elizabeth. (2015) Karel Nel: Observe, London: Art First. Page 15.
3 Telephonic interview with artist, 20 April 2016
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