Dailies: A visit to Alice Elahi

I treated myself to an Artist date today and attended the opening of Alice Elahi's exhibition called Reflections, held at her beautiful studio gallery in Brooklyn, Pretoria. She greeted me taking my hand in both hers as I introduced myself. Frail, but looking sprightly at 86 years of age, she stands welcoming waves of people arriving at the exhibition.

Her work is inspired by nature, and she believes in fully experiencing the landscape she's painting. So much so, that she had spent many a day painting alone on a sand dune in the Namib desert, being dropped of in the morning only to be fetched again at nightfall.

I read this in one of the many publications on display. She has had a lifetime of prolific painting and judging from the scores of people, excitedly discussing her work, she is well loved and respected as an artist. This fills me with hope.

A quotation that speaks to my budding artist's heart reads:
"Unless I have something to communicate, my work is meaningless". It is quite clear in the many moods that she had captured in her paintings. She had to be there: with the storm threatening to break above her head, or sitting watching the reflections of the fishing boats in the water at Hout bay.

The exhibition runs from today until the 4th of November 2012. More information at: http://www.aliceelahi.co.za/exhibition/calendar.htm

Matilda

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