Sanlam Portrait Awards exhibit in town

The Sanlam Portrait Award 2017 art exhibition which officially opened at the George Museum last

Tuesday, 21 August, bemused guests at the cocktail event.

Guests found Janine

Anderson's First day of

School charming and the winner Kate Arthur's Genna & Felix puzzling. The colourful painting had them wondering aloud what the story behind the double portrait could be.

But this is true of many of the portraits. It Hakimi. is generally believed that when a painting or a portrait engages you, it has to be a good one. The 40 finalists had come through a strict selection process and had been whittled down from 1 437 entries.

The biennial competition is staged by Sanlam Private Wealth in cooperation with Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery in Durbanville.

R100 000 winner The winner, Kate Arthur, walked off with the R100 000 prize money. Arthur, who lives and works in Cape Town, Stefan Hundt obtained a BA Fine and acting manager of the museum Lorinda Arts degree from Rhodes University in 2007 and works predominantly in the mediums of painting, drawing and printmaking.

She is interested in portraiture, identity and representations. She was a finalist in the 2015 competition.

"This seemingly simple portrait of two individuals is emotionally charged with a tense ambiguity which confronts the viewer head-on, eliciting a feeling of some discomfort," said Stefan Hundt, curator of the Sanlam Art Collection.

"Portraits such as this and the many others entered into the competition, engage the viewer intellectually and emotionally."

Hundt heads the SPW Art Advisory Service.

He thanked Lorinda Hakimi of the George Museum, the Friends of the Museum and SPW for hosting the event.

The travelling exhibition is on until 15 September and makes highly recommended viewing for art lovers.