The Mountain Without a Shadow [exhibition]

Location: BRIDGE RED Address: 12425 NE 13TH AVE, North Miami, FL 33161 Dates: Friday, April 8, 2018 | 4 pm – 7 pm Exhibition Ends May 27th In “The Mountain Without a Shadow” themes of displacement and cultural heritage permeate Anja Marais' work. Often using photography combined with found objects, her work is imbued with a ritualistic quality. Central to Marais' work is the disintegration of material, creating apt metaphors for the human condition, geography, and memory. Born in South Africa and now living in Miami, Marais' work challenges the viewer to rethink the meaning of systematic conditioning. Photography forms the basis of much of her mixed media work, but she also employs more archaic materials like maize, soil, rust, etc to realize her works. Whilst Marais' work subtly alludes to the impact of racism in South Africa – a country immersed in political and social [...]

By | 2018-04-05T06:50:57+00:00 April 4th, 2018|

FOLD: Exhibit combines unique disciplines through art [write-up]

Exhibit combines unique disciplines through art by NANCY MOYER Marais’ bold images reflect the inner psyche bleeding through external reality. She describes her work as a chronicle of the undertaken journey to wander between the two worlds while being a mirror to both. Her surfaces resemble roughly weathered posters, survivors of life’s events, yet still alive and vital. Believing that all life is a story, “I cut out bits and fragments of this epic tale,” Marais declared in her statement, “and piece them back together searching for coherence and sense; this mutilation creates a new world.” The powerful work, “Up Flight of the Wingless Bird,” predicts the ultimate transformation. The feminine image, slightly larger than life, rises up above a panel suggesting a nervous system, bone structure, or maybe brambles, into a figurative form. Continuing this path, a light from above changes the physical features [...]

By | 2018-02-28T12:16:55+00:00 February 28th, 2018|

Between transformation and disintegration – Art Salon [Art Talk]

Memorial Landscapes between transformation and disintegration: Photography as a Textural Approach by Anja Marais Elle Schorr's Art Salon - South Florida has become a vibrant center for art and artists, and ART SALONS at the ARMORY ART CENTER in West Palm Beach are a gathering place for artists from throughout in the region. Each month from October to May, Art Salons offer presentations by influential professional artists whose artwork is being shown in museums and galleries in South Florida. Presenters show their work, talk about their influences, and explore the work of artists showing in museums and galleries, followed by stimulating discussions between all who attend. Our discussions cover the gamut of contemporary art themes, including conceptual, cultural, socio/political, environmental, race and gender-focused and aesthetic practices, the materials and techniques used to convey these ideas, and where we fit into the world of contemporary conceptual art. Art Salons [...]

By | 2018-02-28T12:04:03+00:00 February 13th, 2018|

FOLD a women exhibition at IMAS, Texas

FOLD is an exhibition of contemporary works by thirteen female artists who explore the concept of the fold in terms of form and conceptual metaphor in both stationary and time-based art media. The fold is simple and complex at the same time – it is a physical act, a state of material, and a way to explain things that happen in other realms.  The fold challenges space and even time, and as a symbolic paradigm, it offers an ever-expanding impulse for creativity.  The exhibition will be held in conjunction with the annual FESTIBA event, which will focus on the theme of borders in a way that offers opportunities to compare theoretical constructs with concrete realities.  Along with the exhibition, seven scholars from different disciplines; Philosophy, Psychology, Social History, the History of Art and Literature, and Women’s Studies will explore the concept of FOLD in their respective areas. The exhibition, with its speakers and the panel discussions, provides [...]

By | 2018-01-23T09:28:05+00:00 January 23rd, 2018|

Press from ABMB week 2017

WHITEHOT MAGAZINE: Re-Mixing History: African Women Artists at Art Basel Miami Beach 2017 ARCADE PROJECT ZINE:  The Moment We’re In: Art Basel Miami 2017 Begins "Far downtown in a former post office, visual artist Anja Marais’s installation Out of Sight; Out of Mind taps into the zeitgeist with large paste-up portraits of immigrants that play with dual perspectives, twisting sight to examine peripheral views of human history. Her images are pasted into corners and archways in the gutted downtown building, creating warped faces that recall distorted views of immigration and its role in history. Marais photographed Miami Haitians who are the children of immigrants. They sat for her portraits and posed as their immigrant ancestors, each holding a tool of their trade."

By | 2018-01-02T12:56:11+00:00 January 2nd, 2018|