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SMITH presents Out of Nowhere, a group exhibition exploring the mystery of the muse as artistic stimulus. Providers of fleeting, inscrutable yet deeply compelling flashes of inspiration, muses are widely saluted but for vastly different reasons. A total of 24 artists will exhibit work exploring the idea of this invisible yet stirring relationship.
Out of Nowhere attempts to trace artistic impulse to its many and various sources by presenting a range of works in a variety of media, with no apparent link save their collective investigation of the theme. As such, alongside painted works there will be others in fabric as well as sculptural installations. The collective is made up of artists from within SMITH’s stable and selected invitees.
The artists involved are Banele Khoza, Bert Pauw, Claire Johnson, Dale Lawrence, Katharien de Villiers, Michael Linders, Gina Niederhumer, Fanie Buys, Joshua Stanley, Jess Holdengarde, Anna van der Ploeg, Stephen Allwright, Frederick Clarke, Michaela Younge, Jill Joubert, Jeanne Gaigher, Marsi van de Heuvel, Jeanne Hoffman, Gitte Möller, Byron Fredericks, Mary Visser, Jenny Parsons, Thomas Pierre and Rosie Mudge.
“Whatever the chosen expression, artists are inspired by a myriad prompts to make their work. Some respond to objects or other visual stimulus, others study their reactions to fear, euphoria or other discernible emotive provocations and others simply follow an unnamed and unknowable inner voice to an unclear destination,” says Amy Ellenbogen, curator at SMITH.
The exhibition sets out to interrogate the modern-day relevance of the arguably anachronistic version of a muse as female, goddess-like and linked strongly to an idea of divine inspiration.
Ellenbogen adds: “What are modern day muses? How has the relationship between artist and muse shifted over time? Has it shifted? You’d think we’d have moved well past the idea of muse as female but, curiously and whether or not this was intentional, there’s a lot of pink and blue in this show.”