2019: PFAFFISMS

SOLO EXHIBITION

03 February – 31 March 2019

The Gallery at Grande Provence

Franschhoek, South Africa

PFAFFISMS 2019 is a personal interrogation of the artist’s interior and exterior world through sculpture.

PFAFFISMS 2019 is a personal interrogation of the artist’s interior and exterior world through sculpture. He questions boundaries of the human condition: What’s inside of me, what’s outside? We feel divided or separated, at times, when in reality it’s simply an illusion.

He explores states of being such as feelings of being trapped in, or disconnected from, everyday life. Sometimes we have a sense of ‘banging’ against life’s ups and downs. What wins out in the mix of genealogy and consciousness?

The heart as an antenna or tree of life pulses and bristles with hope. The imagery of the cosmic tree at universal level merges with the symbolism of electrical circuitry at individual level, and by association, expresses our yearning for authentic connectivity.

Uwe puns with the names of his artworks. ‘School of thought’, for example, portrays an individual momentarily overwhelmed by thoughts – which are imagined as a school of fish seemingly swimming through his entire being.

Pfaff plays with the medium of steel, whether plated, painted or rusted (weathered). With different textures and colours he is able to conjure up a wistful or melancholic glimpse into our states of mind and ways of being, always with a wry sense of humour that intimates that life’s not that bad after all. If seen in the right light, life, Uwe shows us, can actually be quite inspiring.

Feeling separated yellow
Painted steel
60 x 120 x 25 cm
Edition of 7

I have seen the future again
Material/finish
30 x 35 x 4 cm
edition

Feeling separated red
Painted steel
60 x 120 x 25 cm
Edition of 7

Floating legend
Plated steel
36 x 50 x 6 cm
Edition of 7

I am not safe
Plated steel
20 x 35 x 4 cm
Editions

Vortex revisited
Plated steel
35 x 44 x 6 cm
Edition of 7

School of thought last call
Painted Steel
180 x 160 x 20 cm
Edition 1 of 7

Splitting up
Plated steel
23 x 38 x 12 cm
Edition of 7

I have seen the future again and again
Brassplated steel
30 x 35 x 4 cm
Edition of 7

Kind of made it
Brass plated and steel
20 x 50 x 4 cm
editions

You ain’t heavy
Plated steel
25 x 40 x 4 cm
Edition of 7

He is heavy and he is not my brother
Plated steel
25 x 40 x 5 cm
Edition of 7

Pondering genes 1
Painted aluminium
54 x 95 cm

Pondering genes 2
Painted aluminium
54 x 95 cm

Fishing on the slab
Painted aluminium
45 x 75 cm

Fishing on the slab 2
Painted aluminium
45 x 75 cm

Fishing on the slab 3
Painted aluminium
45 x 75 cm

Another life
Plated steel
40 x 40 x 6 cm