Colourful enigmas aim to interact with viewers

THERE is something quite thrilling about seeing a work in progress. Visiting the home of SA artist Deborah Poynton, whose oil paintings are fast becoming hot property, I immediately warm to the artist whose enigmatic artwork has always appealed to me, as we begin discussing life, motherhood and her upcoming exhibition.

Looking at the large, half-finished canvas undergoing transformation for her solo exhibition later this year, the beach scene is unequivocally Poyntonion: two men stand looking at the rush of people on a crowded beach surging into the water. Their stance is aloof and arrogant; a slight menacing and voyeuristic quality exists. It seems the work is about being in life and looking at life, although, characteristically, the viewer is never quite sure what the artist’s intent is. I ask Poynton why this is so often her approach to painting.

“It seems important to me. I cannot afford to not take it into account. I suppose it’s a battle stance in my work. I am interacting with the person who is looking at the work. I have never been able to paint a landscape — it really does not do much for me,” says Poynton. “Maybe when I am old, I’ll paint misty landscapes. It will be my next rebellion.”

The artist, who divides her time between Germany and her home in Simons Town, says despite this defiant edge, there has been a shift over time in her work. “Its not so obsessively personal. I am braver about using colour, more aware of edges and texture. I hear a constant refrain with regard to my work: why do you paint such personal pieces? So I am looking at that, but at the same time that is also simply what I do.”

Describing her early memories of painting, Poynton says: “From early on there was never any question as to whether or not I would paint; it has always been a passion of mine.”

The artist spent a year at the Michaelis School of Art, a time which Poynton describes as “frustrating”, before spending several years teaching herself “how to finish a painting, to push through to a conclusion”.

We discuss the ways in which artists are confined to the categories others place them in: “My work has been described as magical realist, metaphorical, contemporary, realist. Ultimately I paint the human condition. Many of my works have an intimate nudity, which some people find less accessible and fairly challenging. But I don’t do it just to provoke the viewer.”

The artist admits she is influenced by works from the old masters and the Northern Renaissance paintings of Hans Holbien.

“I love the line and texture of his work and the juxtaposition of things. I love Vermeers’ work too. He painted so slowly, which I find encouraging when I feel like I am moving too slowly,” she says.

The demand for Poynton’s work has increased considerably since her first solo exhibition in 1996 at the Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg. Her work is found in corporate and private collections in SA, Germany and the UK and US.

Art dealer and gallery owner Michael Stevenson says: “From an investment point of view, painting is not fashionable among serious contemporary artists in SA, yet there is a huge revival internationally of the tradition of painting, but in a contemporary idiom.“Poynton’s work has started to be included in group shows in Europe, and her market values will change dramatically once a European dealer represents her.

“I think that it is only a matter of time before this happens.”

Her smaller canvas paintings are currently priced at approximately R15000. Six large canvas works will be the focus of Poynton’s upcoming exhibition in September at the Michael Stevenson Gallery, De Smidt Street, Cape Town.

© 2004/03/05 Business Day