I saw a number of prints by South African artist Walter Battiss in an interiors magazine this week, all grouped on a white wall background. Love the look.
This type of art is right up my street – Abstract with reference to Art Brut and Outsider Art as well as bringing so much of its’ time and place – so I went internet searching.
The print above, amongst others is at Erdmann Contemporary, who describe him as:
Battiss was an extremely versatile artist and generally considered the foremost South African abstract painter. He was the creator of the quirky Fook Island concept.
Battiss trained as an art teacher in Johannesburg (1929–32) and his long career culminated in his appointment to the Chair of Fine Arts at the University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria (1964–71). In the 1930s he was among the first to recognize the aesthetic value of Southern African rock art, proclaiming his empathy in several books; he replaced his own former realist style with motifs derived from ancient petroglyphs and paintings, as in Quagga Race…
On the Walter Battiss site, there is more biographical detail and a larger offer of limited edition product available, including the print below.
I shall continue my research over this bank holiday weekend. I hope you enjoy … Walter Battiss and your weekend.
