Tag Archives: painting

Exhibition to end gender based violence

Exhibition opening: 27 June @18h00, National Art Gallery of Namibia

BangBang

BangBang (Acrylic on hardboard, box-framed, 40 x 35cm by Imke Rust)

“BangBang” is a colourful, lighthearted and quirky artwork, open to interpretation. To me it speaks about the dance of love and relationships and their shadow sides, such as the often invisible power-struggles and emotional violence happening within relationships or stigmatization directed against gay people.

The dance of love (or any relationship) needs awareness, mutual respect and sensitivity. If we do not have that, the world seems upside down and we are spinning helplessly in a cycle of unconsciousness, leading to hurt and pain (or in the worst case violence).

Lets dance with each other in the beautiful consciousness that in each of us is a divine soul that needs to be acknowledged and nurtured.

The work is for sale. If you like it, why not come over to the National Art Gallery and buy it? 🙂

I am happy to announce that my artwork has been selected for the exhibition UNITE to End Gender Based Violence. It will be on show, amongst several other great artworks by Namibian artists, at the National Art Gallery of Namibia from the 28th of June till the 2nd of August 2013.

Don’t miss the opening, which takes place on the 27th of June 2013 at 18h00. Namibia’s First Lady, Madam Penehupifo Pohamba will be the keynote speaker. Unfortunately gender based violence is on the increase in our society and a pressing and disturbing problem which needs to be addressed. I hope that this exhibition can play an active role in making us aware that this issue concerns each of us and help us to find solutions.

If you are in Windhoek please come and see the exhibition and show your support for this important matter.

Unite to End Gender Based Violence Exhibition Poster

Barter Buzz – exchanging art

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Tauschrausch

Blogging makes you meet all kinds of interesting artists and fellow bloggers – at least virtually. Recently I have read about an initiative by the artist collective Theo: Tauschrausch (German for something like barter buzz) and decided to participate.

I love the idea of exchanging artworks instead of selling them. Exchanging my artworks for services or goods produced by somebody else, or alternative for artworks from fellow artists is such a cool idea, although not always that easy.

Theo has a offered a collection of their handmade cards and I decided to present them with the postcards of my recent land art works.

The deal was done and I received the most beautifully packaged edition of postcards:

Beautifully packaged postcards by Theo

Postcards by Theo – old fashioned black & white collage style – very cool

Thank you very much Theo! One cannot find a more beautiful excuse to take up a fountain pen, write an art postcard and send it of into the world…. (or on second thoughts maybe just to just keep them all to myself 😉 )

Have a look at more of Theo’s work here and find out who they are.

And more exchanges…

I could never really afford luxury things, such as dying my hair. So when my hairdresser told me that she just loves my artwork, but cannot afford to buy it, we quickly decided that we can fix two problems in one go with exchanging art for beautiful cuts and amazing colours. Following is one of several works, which I have exchanged with my wonderful and very talented hair dresser (Heidi from Heidi’s Hair Studio) in Windhoek.

Yin & Yang from the ‘wo-man’ series (Ink on rice paper, 70 x 70cm by Imke Rust) © Imke Rust

Stunning colours and cuts by my favourite hairdresser in return

I received this 2-piece artwork by Bremen artist Edeltraut Rath in return for one of my dog images from the Power & Politics Series in 2006:

Untitled by Edeltraut Rath from Bremen

The two painted wooden blogs are just beautiful and can be hung or displayed standing in a variety of ways. I just love the warm and sunny colours. (unfortunately the photograph is not the best)

It would be great if we could exchange real things and services with each other more often, instead of using money as a form of payment!

Tell me – have you exchanged or bartered things before or could you imagine doing it? And what was exchanged for what? Did you experience any problems or wonderful surprises? I would love to know more stories about this.

Wishing you a great week!

A(nother) Scream

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“The Scream” by Edvard Munch is up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York. If you have not started saving loooong ago and been earning a ridicules salary, or recently inherited vast sums of money, you will most likely not be able to afford the U$ 80 million price tag on this one.

What I find particularly interesting is that “The Scream” is not your usual “pretty picture” which would sit comfortably above your dining table. It is angst-ridden and full of paranoia… not pretty, but honest, and because it seems as if it came straight from the heart, it also touches our souls in a deep and sometimes disturbing way. It lays bare our vulnerabilities and fears, which we usually hide behind a façade of prettiness (pretty clothes, pretty make-up, and pretty deco in our pretty homes….). Maybe its strength lies in reminding us that we are intensely alive and human, even in the mediocre, materialistic and semi-comatose rat-race which we have created for ourselves. We all can identify with it, and, even if only for a short time, it changes our perceptions and gets our primal instincts roaring. At least that is how I feel.

There are two reasons, why I am sharing this with you today. One is that I have often heard the following said about my own art: “Wow, this work is so powerful and interesting, but I do not want to buy it, as it would be too depressing to hang above my couch (or in my dining room)”. Granted, those who know my art well, agree that many of my works are not easy to live with because of their powerful content or expression. I totally understand that.

I am very fortunate that I work in such a wide variety of styles and subject matter that many different tastes and needs are catered for and my artworks are hanging in homes all over the world. And quite a few of my more socio-political and ‘disturbing’ works have also found appreciation and buyers. So all I am saying, if an artwork touches you but is not pretty in the traditional sense, maybe you can buy it anyway. You do not need to put it up in your living room. You can keep it somewhere where you can contemplate it every now and then and where it can be kept save as a possible investment for your grand-children. Art investments generally bring good returns, if you are patient and lucky – after all, not all artists are Munch or Picasso, but you would usually only find out after we are dead.

Secondly, recently I have made my own version of “The Scream” which I wanted to share with you. It is based on a press-image that I have found several years ago (I think it was from the Iraq war) and on Munch’s painting. It is titled “A(nother) Scream”.

A(nother) Scream by Imke Rust (c) Mixed Media on Canvas 29x41cm

Sorry, this work is already reserved for an interested buyer, but if you like to have an option on it, drop me a line. Munch has made four different versions of “The Scream”; so, in case you are interested, I would be happy to make a personal version of “A(nother) Scream” for you.

Or browse my webpage for getting an impression of the other artworks I have available – you might just find something worth investing in 🙂 .

And sometimes they tell me their names…

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And sometimes they tell me their names…

There is something begging me

To give it a life.

A face.

A form.

Something it can relate to

So that it becomes part of our human world.

Again and again they urge me.

I know they need me.

I hear them calling, begging….

But often I am too busy with less important stuff.

Or too scared, doubting if I can do them justice,

Too scared of trusting the process….

But when I allow myself to follow their calling

Opening myself up to their wishes

Having enough faith to just get going

Having enough peace to listen to their soft voices

Speaking in no language known

Trusting what I do not understand

And following even the faintest notion,

Then they guide me softly, intensely

Telling me about the exact way

In which they would like to be made manifest.

I follow their instructions as best I can.

Sometimes we are finished after a few exciting moments

Sometimes they keep me waiting forever before each new step

Occasionally it seems so simple, so obvious

At other times it is a long struggle

But in the end we always agree.

Now they have a chance to meet you

Talk to you

If you care

To listen to their soft humming.

In a deep inner dialogue

I am standing in front of them.

Amazed and intrigued.

Grateful that I could help them to come to life in our reality

Giving them a shape to be recognized by

Or a line, a colour, a texture…

However much or little they need.

I am humbled to be their midwife.

Mystified actually.

Although they tell me many of their secrets

I still cannot grasp them,

Or fully understand their complexity…

Yet they are part of me.

They tell me all I need to know

and sometimes they tell me their names…

(c)Imke Rust

(Thoughts on how my artworks come into existence)

Portrait of a Dog

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Bolle

In his fearless quest to protect my brother and father on the farmstead, Bolle, the dog pictured above, has killed several snakes during his life. Unfortunately during his last fight with a vicious black mamba, he got bitten so badly, that unlike previous times, he did not survive the venom and died in September 2010. The loss of the dog was a very sad event for my brother, as he has raised Bolle from being a tiny puppy and the two were inseparable.

For my brother’s birthday this year, I have painted this portrait of Bolle from a photograph which I had taken some time ago. Through the artwork, at least the memory of this special dog can live on in a “physical” form.

Although I have painted many dogs, it was a personal challenge to paint the portrait of Bolle. This was not just any dog and it was meant as a gift to my brother – so it had to really look like him and hopefully also somehow catch his spirit and nature. I am happy, that somehow, while I painted, the trusted magic has happened once again and my brother was overjoyed with his gift. The painting was done on an aluminium printing sheet, which was used to print newspapers – that explains the text which shimmers through the background ;o)

My brother with his painting

Many people know me as “the artist who has painted the red dogs”, due to my firstpublic success with winning the Standard Bank Namibia Biennale with the “Bitumen Dogs” in 2001. I have often worked with images of dogs, usually as a metaphor for different human relationships, most notably for my “Power & Politics” series. I like painting and drawing dogs, they have interesting and versatile forms and shapes. And yes, I love dogs, but not more than other animals. And no, I do not have a dog myself. I am more a cat person. (Click on the links above if you like to view more dog artworks.)

Kiddo & Shiwoohamba exhibit in Berlin

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Works by Paul Kiddo

Barely in Berlin and already I had the pleasure to view an exhibition by two Namibian artists, Paul Kiddo & Elia Shiwoohamba. On top of that, I could witness some of the positive results of the ‘shared experiences’ project, which I have co-founded four years ago and co-managed till the end of 2010.

Both artists have been on a two-month ‘shared experiences’ artist residency in Berlin in 2010, all expenses paid. During this time they got to know the exciting city of Berlin and its lively art scene, created new artworks and were able to make many valuable contacts. One such contact happened almost by chance when Paul Kiddo walked into a small gallery in Rigaer Str (Friedrichshein) and got talking to the owners, Lars & Ingolf Neumann. Later also Elia Shiwoohamba presented his works to the gallery. And now, only a few months after this meeting, the Grafik Studio Galerie is presenting the exhibition: Paul Kiddo & Elia Shiwoohamba – Grafik und Malerei aus Namibia (11May -13 June 2011)

The tastefully curated exhibition shows numerous works of both artists in their respective signature styles. Paul charms the audiences with his naïve realism oil-paintings of Namibian landscapes, Kolmann’s Kop buildings, wild animals and the tongue-in-cheek homestead sceneries, while Elia, who works mainly in cardboard prints and lino cuts, uses people and Namibian animals as his subject matter, with many interesting renderings of owls. The works are for sale at very reasonable prices (between 35€ and 420€).

If you are in Berlin anytime before the 13^th of June, do plan in a visit to this exhibition. The gallery can easily be reached with the public transport system, situated only a short walking distance from the Frankfurter Alee S-Bahn Station.

What great achievement for these two artists! I hope you make it even more worthwhile by supporting them with your visit and hopefully by buying one (or more) of their works! Also a warm Namibian “Thank you” to Mr Neumann of the Grafik Studio Galerie, who made this exhibition possible and for promoting Namibian art in Berlin.

: Opening Speech

: Guests at opening event

: Works by Elia Shiwoohamba

: Works by Paul Kiddo

Missing Artwork

Please help! This artwork of mine was last seen in October 2010 at my joint exhibition with Silke Berens “New Works” at Studio77 (Windhoek, Namibia). Unfortunately it has since disappeared (lost? stolen?) and I have never received it back.

Missing Artwork

Has anyone seen this work anywhere? I would really like it back and would be very grateful for any information about it!

A reward is offered to any information leading to the successful recovery of this artwork. Please send me a message on Facebook, my blog or twitter.

Would anybody steal an artwork in Namibia? That seems very unlikely. But on the other side, it seems very strange that it just disappeared into thin air… so I am still hoping that it will be found somewhere.

The work has a special story to it… ok, most of my artworks have, but this one is even more so. If I have time, I will write it down and share it with you on my blog soon.