Sunset Over The Overberg ,1977
Provenienza : [Propriété non datée]
- Private collection, Cape Town
Exhibited :
Literature :
Note : His work is transitional.He bridges the gap between the old masters like Pierneef and Welz and the avant-garde youngsters, and he does this magnificently.Prof A.L Meiring (1977)1
Erik Laubscher’s fresh and unique approach to depicting the Western Cape countryside throughout his long and prolific career has become the artist’s most significant contribution to South African art. His ground-breaking abstract, hard-edge and later expressive landscapes have a timeless appeal and continue to impress art audiences and collectors.
Following a trip to Europe in late 1977, Laubscher started working on a new body of work for his exhibition scheduled to open in September the following year at the Association of Arts in Cape Town. This exhibition of landscape paintings would be remembered as one of Laubscher’s most successful shows and awarded the artist much public and critical acclaim with works being acquired for the South African National Gallery and the Sanlam Art Collection. The works produced in the lead up to this exhibition, like Sunset over the Overberg, shows Laubscher’s artistic confidence and understanding of abstraction and non-figuration.
In this magnificent scene of dusk setting in over the Overberg region (a place much loved by the artist), the natural shapes and patterns of the vast landscape are abstracted and formalised to present a visually monumental composition – the vast and impressive view of the landscape stretching towards the Babilonstoring Mountains in the background. Laubscher uses dark and warm colours for dramatic effect, while softening the scene with cool hues for the windy clouds which add a dash of realism.
[1] Fransen, H. (2009). Erik Laubscher: A Life in Art. Stellenbosch: SMAC Art Gallery.
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