On 13 Ocotober the Museum Gallery will present a new solo show by Cape Town based photographer Nico Krijno. Showcasing recent work from his eponymous book ‘On How To Fill Those Gaps’ (launching in conjunction with the exhibition) Krijno will present a collection of evocative yet thematically disparate images that cohere around his particular way of seeing the everyday world. Tightroping between the magical and the banal; the contemporary and the timeless, he creates a language of images that organise themselves according to an enigmatic rhythm unifying landscape, still life, and portraiture. The classical notion of ‘aesthetics’ as a set of rules governing beauty is disregarded in favour of creating images that evoke an indefinable atmosphere or feeling. At times staged, and at times spontaneous, Krijno’s images frequently reference their creation, establishing a new parallel reality that puts our imagination and our objective perception at loggerheads.
“Nico once told me that he never wants to tell anyone what his work is about, that all good art leaves space for the viewer to find his own meaning. In this space, we may even find some stillness, and watch with what is likely to be surprise at what arises to fill those gaps. Like Robert Henri, like my brother, like my father, and like so many of the artists I have loved and admired before, Nico operates like an alchemist, transforming the real into the surreal and creating a magical world, made all the more so by being unmistakably our own…” said Matthew Freemantle.
The Museum Gallery is situated at Lower Ground Floor, Upper Eastside, 31 Brickfield Rd, Salt River and is a new exhibition space in Woodstock, dedicated to the discovery, development and investment potential of contemporary South African fine art photography. Owned and curated by photographers Dylan Culhane and Greg Beadle, the gallery aims to unearth emerging talent; seeking out bold, original artists engaged in lens-based media.
