Title: Ravine walls series – no 3
Medium: Oil & pigments on incised wood& brass
Signed and dated: 1997
Unframed: 115cm x 127cm
Framed: 121cm x 127cm
“My entire art grew out of the landscape. I tried to create a unique South African formal language by analysing the landscape – inspired by the forms which the indigenous art had already identified, and also against the background of Pierneef” – Cecil Skotness (Harmsen 1996:13).
Cecil Skotness embraced an inclusive South African identity. His work was more in line with international trends than his contemporaries, and he revolutionized printmaking in South Africa through his extraordinary work printed at his friend Fred Schimmel’s fine art printing studio established in 1952. He was best known for his role in establishing the Polly Street Art Centre that created a platform for the excluded artists of colour during the height of Apartheid.
The artwork, Ravine walls no 3, is a work made very late in Skotness’ life. This series beautifully represents his early love of landscape and celebrates the importance of this subject in facilitating the formation of a unique South African formal language by him (Harmsen 1996:11-13).
