About The Artist
For the greater part of the nineties, whilst living in Portugal and the United Kingdom, I attempted to pursue my artistic career and simultaneously earn a living in a field I believed to be parallel i.e. structural heritage restoration. I did achieve my goal to be a highly specialised, well paid and sought after artisan, although my artistic career received less attention. On returning to South Africa in the early part of 2000 I made a conscious decision to forego the easier options of employment, and after careful analysis of the skills I had gained as well as the knowledge and international experience I had received, I knew I was in the right creative emotional and intellectual space to commit entirely to my artistic career. By the end of 2003 I had already participated in several group shows and successfully began to sell my work and earn a living. This included my first solo show which began a body of work called Attitudes. By this time, I had become fascinated by interactive artwork that would bring people into a physically engaging situation with the artwork. The Attitudes are wooden sculptures fixed into a round bottomed base. They are brought to movement by the viewer pushing them. The physical kinetics of these sculptures challenged people's sense of space and safety, and generally caused people to feel child-like and surrounded with the elements of fun. I exhibited evolutions of this work over a two-year period, amassing a body of 45 plus works of which I now only own two. At this juncture, I was commissioned by William Kentridge to assist him on four large bronze sculptures for the Western Australian Museum of Art, and this led to a continued professional relationship and friendship over the next four years. Some of the works included travelling models for The Magic Flute opera and a series of small bronze and wooden horses for The Nose opera. In the middle of 2005 I had already begun to conceive the new form of my work. I was invited to exhibit at the ABSA Gallery. This gave me the opportunity to generate a new body of work which brought me closer to the nucleus of my thinking, that being "make the work precious through interaction with the audience". The show called Ripple, launched the series of works that came to be known as The Quiet Revolution. In this process, I challenged people to spin tops sculpted by me on copper plates, thereby breaking down barriers between the art and the viewer. The copper plates were then used to print valuable time diagrams of the moments they had spent playing with those tops. To date, there have been nine such events and the value of these large prints plus the sculptured tops has increased exponentially since first showing. Some of the owners of these works are ABSA Bank, Mastro Antonio Restaurants and Nirox, to name but a few. In 2007 I conceived of an idea to turn dead standing mammoth trees into public works. This was my first undertaking to raise funds from the private sector to pay for public works and to initiate an apprentice based project. ABSA Bank was willing participants and sponsors of The Burghers of Prince Albert which stands massive and proud on Church Street (Main Street) of Prince Albert in the Klein Karoo. This project, although not entirely achieved country wide, as was my objective, put me in good stead for any future large scale endeavours. From the middle of 2008 into 2009, with the assistance of the Trinity Sessions as my agents, I embarked on a sequence of public works. These include Agua and H2O, two large scale, 3m high wooden sculptures housed at Johannesburg Water and a series of smaller works owned by Johannesburg Art Bank; and two public monuments commissioned by the Johannesburg Development Agency, namely Elevator, a stainless steel symbol of aspiration standing 6m high above Joe Slovo Drive in Berea and Courage, another stainless steel, fearless young girl 6m high, walking on stilts into the city from Alec Gorcel Park in Berea. The year 2009 also brought me closer to my overall vision of how my work must proceed and how I would engage my audience at an even deeper level. The observation of space and time and quantum principles found in The Quiet Revolution and in the oscillation of the spinning tops and The Attitudes gave birth, or should I say flight, to My Private Universe which I have now come to call A.R.C. Gratefully and graciously, I was invited to exhibit at Johannesburg Art Gallery.
Artist CV
Richard John Forbes is a South African Artist, He lives and works in Johannesburg as a visual artist.
Exhibitions 2015 November 19th- Artist proof studio at Absa Gallery Absa towers East, Johannesburg 4 Drypoint etchings . “Lucid Sedation” 1-4 October 1st– Transitions at the post office. The old Transvaal post office 1906- 20 Solomon st, Vrededorp, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa Curators– Richard J Forbes and Danny Myburg . #30 Artists- one big night! Ellipse– a 9 foot suspended wooden void and 4 evolved dry point prints. September– Johannesburg art fair– represented by Artist proof studio. August- Turbine art fair-Artist proof studio -new evolved Dry point prints. May- Nirox winter sculpture fair Marapeng, Kromdraai, Cradle of human kind, Gauteng, South Africa Vessel– A 9 foot cast iron permanent record of a dance.
May- Vessel is unveiled @The winter Sculpture Fair, Nirox sculpture garden , Marapeng ,The cradle of human kind 2014
Vortex 5 at BRUNDYN+ Gallery’s summer show “Anyway” the wind blows” Cape Town
Artist Residency at Nirox Foundation. Exploring new works in ston, and performance.
“Paper” a Group exhibition at Artist Proof studios exploring alternative, sculptural uses of paper.
Nirox project space #3 with Stephan Erasmus, and Ansi Nitingeka
Turbine art fair with Prince Albert gallery
Nirox winter sculpture exhibition
Joburg Joburg Exhibition.
1st & 8th on the roof of corner house , Commisioner street, Johannesburg.
2013:
Vortex 1 installed at Spier wine estate, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, RSA
Milwaukee print shows at Johannesburg art fair with Artist proof studios alongside 4 New prints from the star walker series relating to water bearer .
Res gallery Jan Smuts ave, Johannesburg.
Processed a solo exhibition exploring the digital process of the brain through print and sculpture
March 13 2013 - University of Milwaukee- Guest speaker and print collaborative workshops until the 23rd.
April 2013 - Vortex 1 & 2 ( large steel structures ) unveiled at the Nirox sculpture park , Maboneng, Gauteng, South Africa for the “After the Rainbow nation” exhibition
2012:
“ Tempest” commenced
September- Represented by Artist Proof studio & David brown Fine Art at Johannesburg art fair.
Invitation by Elena Rocci to contribute to her and Rhett Martyn’s architectural art installation at Gifa ( Gauteng institute of Architecture) during the Art fringe festival . Braamfontein , JHB, Gauteng South Africa
Participated in the Prince Albert art fair . Print & sculpture
May - Participated in 21 years of Artist proof studios at Johannesburg Art Gallery
“Water Bearer” lino print 1m by 1800 m
15 March - 15 April A.R.C @ Gibs ( Gordon institute of business science),Ilovo , Johannesburg, South Africa
2011:
December - Marvelouse world 5–Prince Albert Klein Karoo featuring Sarel Petrus, Guy Dutoit Richard John Forbes, Paul Cooper
September - Monumental Wood carving mentorship for Pretoria university. 3rd year students produced work to stand on the grounds of the university around a newly created lecture hall. Trees were sourced from the excavations to offset the carbon footprint of the site. Installation of works January 2012
September - Artist proof studios shown at Johannesburg Art fair
May-August - A.R.C. @ JAG – Mid career retrospective solo show at Johannesburg art gallery
February - Marvelous World- 4 male sculptors, Richard Forbes, Guy du toit, Sarel Petrus, Paul Cooper. Venue- Fried gallery Pretoria
March - female dirigible “ aviatrix” exhibited on a Christian Nerf disposable experience, Cape town , wood stock.
April - Exhibited published print collection on the Johannesburg art fair courtesy of Artist proof studio.
Africa burns- Purged “The kiss” with fire.
July - prints and minuments of ‘Courage’ and ‘elevator’ @ Grand Provence , Franschoek , western Cape.
September - Exhibited “ Courage” along with 20 respected sculptors in the "Roof top" exhibition, St. Lorient wedding and dress design venue, Pretoria. This show moves to University of Johannesburg gallery for an opening on the 7th of October to be open for 2 months.
October - "Quiet revolution" print exhibited and sold for the fund raiser of Artist Proof Studios at gala dinner Mastre Antonio.
Participated in “Taped”, a Public art experiment by Rhett Martyn at Inscape design school, Rosebank, Johannesburg.
November - Printed an addition of “ A.R.C @ JAG” for the Johannesburg Art Gallery centenary book to be launched on the 28th on November 2010. Part of the series of prints to be show in May of 2011 “A.R.C” a mid career retrospective.
December - “Sarah’s world” and “Courage” show on “Angels” Gallery at Grande Provence, Franschoek, Western Cape, South Africa.
2009:
December - Research for Exhibit a mid career retrospective show at JAG in May of 2011.
September - Exhibited along with 20 sculptors in the ”Roof top” exhibition, St. Lorient wedding and dress design venue, Pretoria. This show moves to University of Johannesburg gallery for an opening on the 7th of October to be open for 2 months.
May - The art room, Melville JHB “Composing cats series” lino cut prints.
April - Exhibited a "quiet revolution" print and a printed dirigible on the Johannesburg art fair courtesy of Artist proof studio.
January - Commenced creation, completion and installation of 2 public works for Berea, Johannesburg commissioned by the JDA through the trinity Sessions. ‘Courage’ and ‘Elevator’
2008:
November - Assisted Guy Du toit with a 3m/3m/3m concrete wave for Jefreys bay, Eastern Cape.
Marvelous World- 4 male sculptors, Richard Forbes, Guy Du toit, Sarel Petrus, Paul Cooper. 3 venues over one year: Outlet\ at Pretoria tech. Bag factory\ Johannesburg. Off the wall\ Paarl in the Cape.
February - “Courage”–Mixed media 3m high sculpture in Mozambique.
Private Commission – door for Michelangelo The King suite. 18 month completed and installed.
2007:
November – Participated in a wood block\lino cut printing work shop hosted by JHB art bank and Artist Proof studio. Produced the “ Composing cats series”
September 22nd-October 13th – Quiet Revolution concluded in SA in a solo show at The Premises gallery, Johannesburg Civic theatre
August - assisted William Kentridge with a wooden horses for his forth coming opera "The Nose?." Horses shown at the Goodman gallery.
July – Quiet Revolution hosted at the Topsy Foundation (haven for Aids afflicted families and orphans).
June – Commenced work on ‚SAND ANGEL AND SHAMAN? the entrance of the pent house suite of the Michelangelo towers, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.
April - carved two monumental sculptures for Johannesburg Art bank to be placed at Johannesburg Water, named The Fluid Couple(two 3m high wood carvings depicting water towers, as I interpret them)
March – Blue Gum project sponsored by Absa, in Prince Albert, Klein Karoo. Five monumental trees carved and four carvers trained. Finished sculpture called The Burghers of Prince Albert
2006:
December – Submitted a print and a spinning top (Quiet Revolution) to the National School of Arts for its traveling exhibition of the East, beginning in Singapore
June – Workshop at St Stithian’s College Cultural Day with 1000 attendees.
June – Workshop/show The Quiet Revolution at Artist proof Studio with approximately 100 students.
May - Completed one Miniature Theatre for William Kentridge’s‚ Magic Flute‚ projections. Project destination: Paris.
May – Provided Absa Bank with commissioned trophies for Absa Atelier Award 2006
February – Ripple Exhibition at Absa Gallery, Johannesburg (8-24 Feb).
2005:
January — Established Richard J Forbes school for sculpture.
February — Beginning of” Blue gum project”
March — Research film trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana Produced ‘4 rivers’ digital film .Part of the MTN art collection. Commenced production of” With Logs” exhibition .
April — Completed scale model display theatre for William Kentridge’s “Magic Flute” as seen at La Monne’ opera house , Brussels, Belgium.
May — Commenced film production of ”The Somnambulist” with technical assistance from Craig. A transparent night watch self portrait. Submitted “The Somnambulist “ to Brett Kebble ward.
July — “With Logs” solo exhibition opened at 157 Jan Smuts Ave, Johannesburg.
September - Commissioned to create 5 more miniature theatres for William Kentridge destined for Italy, New York, Zurich, Paris.
October — Exhibited on group show at Michael Angelo Tower Mall,Sandton, Johannesburg by invitation from the Trinity Session.
November — Completed 3 Miniature Theatres for William Kentridge’s “Magic Flute” projections.
December – Commenced production for new exhibition; “RIPPLE” at ABSA Gallery, downtown Johannesburg.
2004:
February - completed 4th and last monument model for William Kentridge.
March – Exhibited through ORT South Africa at the chief Rabbi Cyril Harris Sinagogue.
April – Resident at the Gordart Gallery ,3rd Ave, Melville, Jhb, SA. With thanks to Gordon Froud the curator, I have participated in two group shows.
April – “Nodd” the oak nodding Daschund showing in the ‘ten years of democracy’ exhibition at the Everard Read Gallery, Rosebank, JHB, SA.
May — Stained glass and found wood gable front door installed at Livni family home, Emmarentia, Johannesburg.
June - Participated on Gordart vinyl disc exhibition which travelled to ARTKLOP.
September — Finalist on the Brett Kebble art award
October — Exhibited TAC TOC with Toni Ann Ballenden at Gordart. Melvillle ,Jhb
November/December — Created a stereo scope viewer for William Kentridge.
2003:
March-July - Carfax, ‘vinyl cube’ event.
August - Commenced assistance to William Kentridge on 4 monumental sculptures for the Museum of Modern Art , Western Australia. To be completed by January 2004.
November - Carfax ‘vinyl cube 3 The Kiss’
2002:
Carfax group exhibition. Commenced work on a solo body of work while allowing
private viewing at No.66, 6th street, Linden, Johannesburg, SA.
2001:
July - “Blind Spot 2” Dry Barry Gallery, Vrededorp, Johannesburg, SA.
October - Group exhibition, Stewart Gallery, Parkhurst, Johannesburg, SA. Commenced front door project for Mr & Mrs Livni.
2000:
Returned to South Africa.
July - Finger print participant in ‘Blind spot’, Dry Barry Gallery, Vrede dorp, Johannesburg, SA.
November - group exhibition, Stewart Gallery, Parkhurst, Johannesburg, SA.
1999:
July - solo exhibition, Kings road, South Kensington, London.
August - Group exhibition, Dorian Gallery, Berkshire, North London.
1998-2000:
Became totally absorbed in heritage restoration specializing in the features of land mark structures eg:
June 1998 - Solo exhibition of London wood carvings. Beacon Gallery se13, London, UK.
1989-1997:
1997 - Co-founder of Beacon studios, se13 ,London, UK. A live \ work environment which eventually aided in the amending of council bylaws across England . I.E: commercial and residential combined licensing.
1997 - commenced apprenticeship with Paul Carter. architectural stone restorer through David Ball Restoration to English heritage. First project: The Sultan of Brunei’s London residence no.27 Kensington palace gardens ,Kensington, London, UK
1996 - Depford art festival. Solo exhibition for HSBC bank, Depford, London, UK. July. Carved and erected head stone for Julian Husband. Died 24\06\1996.
1995 - Colaborated with tree surgeon, Julian Husband utilizing fallen and found wood in city parks. TheLondon collection .
1994 - Travelled to Canada. Montreal,Toronto,Vancouver, Calgary then returned to Cascais, Portugal. Commenced rigorous self training in the skill of woodcarving and the Portuguese language.
End of 1994 - emigrated to London, UK.
1993 - Returned to Cape Town and opened the Loop street studios. Main focus on sculpture from recyclables.
1992 - moved to Cape Town then on to Paris, France. Lisbon, Portugal.
1991 - Accepted a position as apprentice \ assistant to Guy Du Toit; sculptor, bronze founder.
1990 - commenced foundation course at Technicon Witwatersrand.
1989 - graduated from Johannesburg school for art, ballet, music & drama with a 1st in painting, and sculpture.
2nd in drawing and photography.
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