 Luli Hamman, International Contemporary Artist , mother, wife and hostess.
Born in Pretoria, I matriculated at the Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria with a distinction in art.
Qualifications:
1971 – 1974:
University of Pretoria BA Fine Arts Degree. Majoring in Painting, Art history and Graphic
Techniques. Worked under major internationally acclaimed artists like Nico Roos, Eben van der Merwe and Raymond Andrews.
Finished with an honours degree in painting.
1975 – 1978:
Worked in London at the Chelsea School of Art under the internationally acclaimed British Artist David Smith. He
went on the Royal Expedition with Prince Charles to the Arctic as Royal Artist and worked on the top deck in order to have a birds eye
view, as the ship broke the ice as they moved along very slowly.
His large canvasses of the ice breaking, had the most dominant
influence on my work and inspired me to do a series of large atmospheric landscapes when I returned to SA. It’s the most direct
influence on my work (the cool pallet and no colors). I did not use any silver at that stage.
While in London:
I had two solo
exhibitions in 1976 and later in 1978 before returning to SA I only started developing my silver technique once back in SA. It is a
technique of layering and embossing with heavy textures. I mainly focused on the human shape.
1979 – 1989:
Returned to Cape Town, RSA.
Attended various winter and summer schools at the University of Cape Town and life drawing classes at the University of Stellenbosch in the Cape.
Had six solo exhibitions at The Art Scene Gallery in Cape Town over a period of 10 years.
1980:
In the early 1980’s I painted mainly landscapes large canvases with a minimum of color atmospheric landscapes like Turner.
Towards the end of 1985 my market was mostly the corporate market in SA. I focused mostly on animal scenes and worked in my silver technique. I painted elephants at a water hole (Sanlam Investment), elephants in the dust (Namibia), elephants in the desert
(Gensec). I also sold paintings to Old Mutual and Hout Bay Management as well as private collectors in Namibia.
From 1999:
I started to paint mainly animal scenes and concentrated on the Big 5.
2000 to 2002:
Had various exhibitions in Cape Town. Bloemendal Estate bought a wild dog painting – a first in the silver
technique method. Cape Farmers Winery commissioned a painting of the black Rhino (approximately 4m – 3m) for the Rhino
fields launch. Exhibited some of my work at various group exhibitions and sold animal paintings as well as figure studies,
internationally.
Animal studies:
I started painting mainly the big five, since South Africa has such a vast animal kingdom. From childhood I spent
holidays in the wild. My father is a great animal lover and has a very profound knowledge of the animals and birds in SA.
Nowadays my husband and I spend a lot of time in the African Bush and frequent game parks in Botswana, Zimbabwe and the
local Game Reserves in SA. I never sketch in the wild. I use a combination of photographs and memory.
From about 2003:
I
began simplifying the shape of a single animal – like a portrait where the eye of the animal becomes the focal point and the skin
becomes an art work in itself. I try to paint only the essence of the specific animal.
From 2006:
I began combining the shape of the human form with the shape of an elephant in the landscape. The different genre of painting e.g. landscape, animal paintings and figure studies form a unity working together where the silver conjoin it.
Paintings of Wild Dogs:
Between 2001 and 2004 I painted a series of five Wild Dog paintings that form part of private collections
in America and Canada. I tried to captivate the Wild dog spirit and agility as well as the interaction between the animals. Each wild
dog painting is one of a kind. I used very little silver as the colorful skin of the animal is decorative enough. Each painting portrays
the great energy of the animal frozen in time.
 Elephant Series:
I place my elephants against a typical African landscape, vast open and desert like. I use the shape of the elephant head and ears to repeat in the mountains on the horizon. This forms a flowing rhythmic quality in my work. I use the horizontal
lines of the trunks to echo in the zebra skin that I sometimes use to cover the human figure of an African female. I use the female
figure as symbol because the elephants come from a matriarchy where the elephant cows stay in the family they are born in from
birth till they die.
They nurture their numerous calves year after year. The female shape portrays the strong feminine spirit of the
elephant. I use color in these paintings to portray the warm African sun and to form a contrast between background and animals. I
frame these paintings with indigenous wooden frames – heavy enough to carry the painting sometimes 300mm wide.
The buffalo and elephant are the animals that I paint the most. The buffalo paintings have very little silver and I do them as portraits
of one animal from a herd staring intensely at the spectator. That instant when man and animal acknowledge one another.
In my figure paintings I use a usual limited pallet of burnt umber and Phthalo blue to form a dark khaki brown. In the figures it is
the movement I want to capture. Silver is the most dominant element in my work – it is stronger than white that is traditionally used
to paint light in a painting.
Brief introduction of my technique:
Between 1970 and 1974, I did experimental work at the Universal of Pretoria, under Prof. Nico
Roos in the Graphic department. We cut out the silver etching plates and worked with a marbling technique. Shalac (Black Japan)
is poured onto water. The etching plates are then placed face down in the water. The Shalac sticks to the plate surface to form
marble like
shapes. The plates are then put into an acid bath to eat away between the black shapes, thus forming the embossed
surface. These plates were far more interesting than the end product.
This technique inspired me to find a way to produce a silver
replica on a much larger scale. When I paint I seldom think in color. My pallet is monotone and silver. I only use color to portray
warmth and sunshine e.g. Elephant landscape with figure.
My paintings project the innovative and original spirit of Africa.
My bold technique creates a striking visual experience by making
use of both natural as well as metallic colours and creates an interesting contrast between light and shadow. Beautiful and unique
detail is obtained through a special scratching method. The metallic colours I use create various reflections when exposed to
sunlight. The effect created in the latter causes the paintings to come alive through the ever changing light reflections.
The
predominant wildlife themes are portrayed in a modern and bold manner which adds to the originality of my work. The framing is
kept simple which enhances the subtle detail. Definitely “something different”.
“I am a post modern artist and the technique is the most dominant feature in my work. I paint every day and I learn more about the
technique and how to control it, that it forms part of my painting process without interfering with the creative process. The silver
functions as a formal element, a color, stronger than white in my monotone pallet to enable me to express myself in a unique South
African expression.”
Permanent Collections:
I have sold paintings to private art collectors all over the globe – Sydney, Australia; Brussels, Belgium;
Canada; Cyprus; Prague, Czech Republic; London, Manchester, England [Includes one of the members of the Royal Family … ];
Paris, France; Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Insel Riems, Munich, Germany; Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Hong Kong;
India; Dublin, Ireland; Mexico; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Katowice, Poland; Singapore; Sweden; Zurich, Switzerland and Los
Angeles, Miami, Dallas, New York, Connecticut, Washington DC, USA as well as to the local market in Cape Town and
Johannesburg. |
