Veldsman collection exhibited at Bellhaus
The life and art of plants
A collection of extraordinary renderings by Dewald Veldsman titled “Seeds of the future lie buried in the past” opens at the Bellhaus Atelier and Galerie on Friday, which is also Earth Day.“I have always been a dreamer and future thinker inspired by nature. At school, I had art as a subject and was awarded the prize for the best final year student in our region. I excelled in both science and art and subsequently, studied Architecture at the University of Pretoria. During my studies, I would spend hours wandering my environment sketching and analysing nature, people and their activities,” Veldsman says.
His instinctive pursuit of perspective, a passion for nature and the skills acquired in architectural design informed his unconventional life choices and career decisions.
Paradigm approach
One of the most exciting results of his alternative paradigm approach was the design and construction of the Emantini Seed Bank in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Working for Paragon Architects in South Africa at the time, a remote residential project in the Kingdom of Eswatini was not of interest to any other team leaders in the firm. Dewald put up his hand. Fast forward a series of projects down the line, the client and Dewald had become good friends, sharing a passion for plants and a sustainable future for the planet.
Working with a very tight budget, Dewald managed to reimagine the use of the simple cinder block to construct an ingenious work of architecture that is beautiful, functional and cost-effective.
The result is the Emantini Seed Bank, a “vault” of conservation to safeguard the genetic diversity of local and regional plant life.
Understanding
Dewald found the seeds wanting to be understood. To understand, he started to draw. He continued to document these seeds that found their way into the seed bank, to wait there, dormant and seemingly dead, yet so very much alive.
“Drawing comes naturally to me when I design and investigate any subject matter and these (seeds) are the fruits of my labour.”
Marcii Magson, co-founder of the Bellhaus Atelier and Galerie who curated the exhibition, happened upon his work in his notebook, which he carries around everywhere. An esteemed artist and exceptional creative soul herself, she immediately understood the language of his genius:
The collection consists of a limited edition series of 30 prints each that can be bought framed or unframed. All the illustrations are printed on Hahlemuehle German Etching Fine Art Archival paper. Each print will be accompanied by Hahnemuehle Hologram Certificate of Authenticity and the Artist Certificate of Authenticity.
The exhibition opens at 18:00 on Friday and can be viewed until 12 May.
Other highlights
• Saturday (23 April) at 10:00: First small talk on Emantini Seedbank.
• Tuesday (26 April) at 18:00: Second small talk on illustration style and creative concept behind “Seeds of the future lie buried in the past”.
• Thursday (28 April) at 18:00: Illustration evening hosted by Dewald Veldsman & Bellhaus Atelier &
Galerie. Join an evening of drawing, exploring linework and contrast in a nurturing in an informal environment with music and wine provided by the Bellhaus.
For more info, contact 081 403 6682 or [email protected], or visit www.bellhaus.art