Walkabout event: 11:00 on Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Venue: Main Building, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein
Oliewenhuis Art Museum is proud to present One Thing Leads to Another, a solo exhibition of paintings by South African artist Bronwen Findlay, on view from 26 June – 17 August 2025.
This exceptionally vibrant exhibition of mostly colourful and textured artworks is a review of 48 years of expressive painting by well-known South African artist, Bronwen Findlay, and visually showcases different eras of her life. Some pieces have been borrowed from public collections, while others have not been shown previously and some were created as recently as this year. One Thing Leads to Another is a wonderful opportunity for the general public, and the artist herself, to view and experience her delightful artworks together in the same space and to see both similarities and differences in the depicted imagery, and in the way paint has been used and manipulated.
Bronwen Findlay says the following about her artworks: "My work is informed by spaces I have lived in, places I have been to, things I collect, people I collaborate with. I manipulate paint and colour in response to my subject matter. I like to think that ‘every picture tells a story’ but that each painting exists as its own world. I try to find beauty in things which might seem insignificant or not of great importance, the ordinary or every day. I have painted domestic objects, which may be loaded with cultural connotations – a willow-patterned piece of crockery from my grandmother, enamel tin plates and mugs bought from trading stores. Textiles and cloth have also played an important role in my work – I was influenced by the embroidery and beadwork created by women from the Limpopo province and for a time beaded my paintings with dots of paint. Colour and decoration have always been an important aspect of my painting. This decorative manipulation of paint may also be seen in my more recent paintings of South African flora and fauna – while these works are hardly botanical, I hope that they capture a different reality."
Bronwen Findlay was born in December 1953 and spent her childhood in KwaZulu-Natal. She matriculated in Pietermaritzburg and studied art at the Natal Technikon and the University of Natal (later the University of KwaZulu-Natal). Her first teaching post was at Mansfield Boys’ High in Durban, and she went on to teach in the Education and Art departments of the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. Alongside her teaching, she has worked with various NGOs in both Durban and Johannesburg.
Throughout her career, she has maintained a consistent painting practice. She has held solo exhibitions at KZNSA Gallery, Elizabeth Gordon Gallery, and Tamasa Gallery in Durban, as well as Everard Read Gallery, David Krut, Gallery Two, and Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg. Her work is included in public and private collections in South Africa and abroad. In addition to her painting, Findlay has worked collaboratively on printmaking and embroidery projects, and more recently on mosaic commissions based on her drawings and paintings.
Findlay’s first exhibition was held in 1977 at the Walsh Marais Gallery in Durban – since this time she has painted constantly while teaching at schools and later universities. Looking at this body of work shown in one place enables one to see how a past way of seeing influences what comes afterwards – how one thing leads to another.
The public is invited to join Oliewenhuis Art Museum for the opening of One Thing Leads to Another. The opening will take place at 18:00 on Tuesday, 15 July 2025 in the Main Building of Oliewenhuis Art Museum. Everyone is welcome and entrance is free of charge. Refreshments will be served.
A walkabout of the exhibition will be conducted by the artist at 11:00 on Wednesday, 16 July 2025.
The exhibition can be viewed until Sunday, 17 August 2025. Oliewenhuis Art Museum is located at 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein and is open to the public from Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 17:00, and on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays between 09:00 and 16:00. A ramp at the entrance provides access for wheelchairs, while a lift provides access to the first floor. A R10 parking fee will be charged, payable in cash only, but entrance to the museum is free.
For more information please contact the Museum at 078 968 4300 or
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