The Art of Walking
Historic Stellenbosch wine farm and art benefactor Spier has launched an official Art Route.
Art is as much a part of the Spier brand as its fine wines and delicious food, and about 3 200 artworks have been assembled by the Spier
Arts Trust in a celebrated collection. At any given time, about 900 of these are on display at various indoor and outdoor locations around the estate – and now, for the first time, these have been curated into a self-guided walking tour, with highlights that range from paintings and sculptures to mosaic and mixed media.
Collect your free, easy-to-navigate fold-out map from the hotel reception, the tasting room or one of the restaurants, and wend your way through the estate’s various buildings and outdoor spaces, exploring the wonderful array of contemporary South African art. With Spier a committed supporter of local art and artists, you can also find out how the Spier Artisan Apprenticeship Programme and Creative Block are providing career development opportunities for artists under the auspices of Spier’s Growing for Good initiative.
If you don’t feel like finding your own way around, a guided tour is offered once a month by one of the Spier Arts Trust registrars, who will give you fascinating insights into the collection. These free guided art walks happen on the first Saturday of every month at 10am. spier.co.za
HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS:
THE DYING SLAVE Artist Marco Cianfanelli
Medium Limestone, marble, granite, pebbles, industrial glass, porcelain, glass smalti, and handcrafted ceramics set into nine steel frames This 42.6m2 mosaic artwork consists of about 225 000 pieces of tesserae, and took five months to complete.
UNTITLED (1, 2 and 3) Artist Qaqambile Bead Studio
Medium Glass beads The beautifully detailed portraits of three women illustrate the versatility of beading as a medium for capturing subtlety of colour and mood.
SONGSMITH (THE GREAT KAROO) Artists Jenna Burchell
Medium Rock, metallic strips Twelve ancient, fractured Karoo rocks, repaired in the Japanese kintsukuroi method, have been transformed into interactive sound sculptures.
MOSAIC KRAAL South Africa’s first permanent outdoor exhibition of mosaics features the work of 16 contemporary local artists, including Selvin November, Lindile Magunya and Pierre Fouché. SHAHADA II (Part 2) Artist Igshaan Adams
Medium Beads, cotton, fabric and metal The tapestry spells “testimony” in Arabic. This exquisitely intricate weaving echoes the complexity of Igshaan Adams’s multifaceted identity.
ALTERED YARNS Artist Tamlin Blake
Medium Newspaper, yarn Using a homemade spindle, Tamlin Blake spun dyed sheets of newspaper cut into thin strips to create a textured yarn. Her tapestries explore the many ways in which our lives are shaped by the stories of others.