Visual Arts
Woordfees auction
Bidding can be executed online from any location in the world and also on personal devices at the Town Hall.The Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees annual art exhibition and auction is presented in collaboration with Strauss Co. The exhibition is presented in the Stellenbosch Town Hall and the auction is open online for the duration of the festival. Teresa Lizamore is the exhibition curator. The auction includes artworks from both established and emerging artists. Bidders can bid online at the city hall on their personal device or from any other location.
How to bid at the auction?
The auction runs from September 24 to October 7 at 14:00. You can bid on any item in the auction during this period.
Bids can be made either online on Strauss Co’s website or via their mobile app. Bidders are able to monitor the bids on an item up until an hour before the closing of the bids. Bidders are able to make several bids on the same work throughout the period. Track items by clicking on the ‘Auction Favourites’ button under ‘My Account’.
If there is bidding activity within five minutes of an item’s scheduled closing time, a five-minute extension period will be added to that item until only one bidder remains. These extensions will continue indefinitely until there is no bidding activity for a period of five minutes, indicating that there is no further interest.
All prospective bidders must register online even if you have previously participated in a Strauss Co auction.
For more information visit straussart.co.za
The exhibition mirrors the theme of this year’s festival, “SPEEL” or “PLAY”. The exhibition has been conceptualized to represent “PLAY” as both a noun and as a verb, and builds on ideas of enjoyment, spontaneity, and theatricality.
Less than R10 000
Less than R30 000
Above R30 000
Guided tours
Guided tours of the auction exhibition are offered by Strauss Co specialist Elmarie van Straten and the exhibition curator Teresa Lizamore.
30 SEPT 10:00 | 2 OCT 15:00 | 4 OCT 10:00
60 min | Town Hall
Free
Exhibition:
Curator: Teresa Lizamore
Teresa Lizamore from Strauss Co is the curator of the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees’s Town Hall exhibition and auction for the second consecutive year. This year, she is bringing works from more than 100 new artists, as well as a few well-known ones, to celebrate the Woordfees’s theme of ‘Play.’
‘We are taking the definition of the word ‘Play’ (engaging in activities for enjoyment and relaxation) in English and playing with its homonym ‘play’ (a theatrical production meant for an audience) for the concept of our exhibition. This is relevant to the Woordfees since theatrical productions are the heart and soul of the festival.”
“The exhibition will have separate categories within theater for artists to explore – Theatre of comedy, drama, thrillers, romance, fantasy, word art, and Theatre of the Other.
‘”As the curator, I hope the exhibition provides a playful and creative viewing experience that celebrates the talents of South African artists and highlights the arts in a broader context”, says Teresa.
The ‘Play’ exhibition will be launched by the renowned artist, Dr. Karin Preller, whose solo exhibition ‘Alles in foto’s’ will be on display in the foyer of the Town Hall.
Karin Preller
Karin Preller (the introductory artist to the exhibition's) artworks are not on auction but are for sale at the exhibition in the Town Hall.
Preller’s work plays with the festival theme in various forms. Apart from paintings that reference the magical world of theatre and audiences of the past, Preller’s source material comes from found images in iconic South African photo books (1950s-1970s), postcards, and travel brochures from South Africa’s past. The paintings emphasize the melodrama, theatricality, and quirky humor of the photo stories’ wooden frames. Pulp fiction, carefully reinterpreted in paint, comes alive as compelling, humorous, and often disturbing commentaries on South Africa’s past and contemporary society.
Karin Preller lives and works in Johannesburg. She earned a B.A. (Fine Arts) (cum laude) from Unisa, an M.A. (Fine Arts) (cum laude) from Wits, and has just completed her Ph.D. in Art and Design at UJ.
Solo exhibitions include Family Album at the ABSA Gallery (2001); Snapshots at the Gordart Gallery (2007); Aperture at Fried Contemporary (2008); Stills at Artspace (2009); City and Suburban at the Standard Bank Gallery (2010); Just Above the Mantelpiece at Artspace (2013); Stilled Lives at Lizamore and Associates (2015); Almost No Memory at Lizamore and Associates (2020); and Beyond Memory at the 2022 KKNK. She was honored with a Kanna Award at the 2022 KKNK and was nominated for a kykNET Fiësta in 2023. Her works are included in the collections of the Johannesburg Art Gallery, UNISA, ABSA, SASOL, The Public Protector, the Pretoria Art Museum, and the Oliewenhuis Art Museum.
Marlene Steyn
The festival artist for 2024 is the painter and clay sculptor Marlene Steyn. The featured artist for the 2024 festival is the painter and clay sculptor Marlene Steyn. Her approach and art resonate with the festival theme, showcasing vibrant colors, fantasy, and imaginative forms that conjure dreamlike landscapes. Her work encourages viewers to delight in a sense of playfulness they might not even have been aware of. During the festival, she will present an exhibition of her work, which has been included in various collections and recent exhibitions, such as *Home Bodies* at the SMAC Gallery in Stellenbosch and *Non-Places* at the Powerlong Art Center in Shanghai, China. The exhibition will be held at the US Museum, and Marlene will participate in a discussion about her work on October 2nd at 14:30 in the US Museum Annex.
Later, she is back in action in Breath Of Gaia: Exhibition And Fashion Show , in which she and designer Lezanne Viviers explore fashion design through the lens of the performing arts.
