Lourenço brings ‘The Present, You Present’ to Thapong

Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Sunday April 21, 2024 05:57

 

The South Africa-based visual artist is returning to Thapong three years later after her last show here in 2021.

She will showcase her paintings in a show dubbed ‘The Present, You Present’. Describing her upcoming show to Arts&Culture, Lourenço said: “The concept of this show is that each space, person and memory is a gift, a present that we are given.” ‘The Present, You Present’ is a homonym where the word “Present” has two different meanings.

In addition, the idea that, as much as my paintings focus on the nostalgic longing for the past, we must remember to stay present and focus on the here and now,” she explained. She explained that the latest show has some very intricate and bright images of flowers, close-ups and river images that represent her time in Limpopo where she lives near the river.

“I will also be bringing back a few of my older works. The show will house landscapes from Gaborone, Maun, Makhanda, Limpopo, Cape Town and Durban. The name of this show, ‘The Present, You Present’, reminds us to celebrate and be grateful for the Present and remember that each day is a gift,” she added. As a painter, Lourenço says she loves to blend oil paint using sfumato techniques in the beginning stages. Sfumato is a word that comes from the Italian sfumare, meaning the fine shading that produces soft, imperceptible transitions between colours and tones.

She says towards the end, she likes to create highlights with thick palette knife work as this helps certain parts pop out for the viewer.

“The works presented in this exhibition comprise older paintings that are based on some of these special moments, along with newer pieces that revolve around my stay in Limpopo. My most recent series of artwork encompasses the landscapes of Limpopo, my #LimpopoDreams, emphasising the concept of ‘The Present, You Present’ through my vivid memories of that time and space,” she mentioned.

Lourenço grew up in Gaborone and went to Maru-a-Pula high school where she developed her love for art from a young age. She said she started painting on her bedroom walls before moving on to bigger canvases. “I was lucky to study Art at Rhodes University in Makhanda where I specialised in painting. I’m a free spirit and have been travelling and living in different parts of Botswana and South Africa since I finished high school. I’m an emotive painter and base my work on personal experiences. My paintings tell stories of different people and spaces that have been part of my journey. My two favourite places I have lived were in Shakawe and in Limpopo, South Africa,” she added.

Despite her love for the art scene in Cape Town, which she says has the most events and galleries compared to all the places she has lived in, it will be an emotional return to the Thapong because “they are very supportive of my art and journey. They always help me create a beautiful show, and my shows are well supported. I keep coming back because Gaborone is my home, and Thapong is like my mother’s house; it is always warm and inviting. I have been painting for as long as I can remember. Ever since I left home, Gaborone, Botswana at the age of 19, I have lived in many beautiful places such as the Okavango Delta, Durban, Makhanda, Cape Town and Limpopo. In each of these spaces, I formed connections with people who would later become my family,” she stated. Alongside lavish Limpopo landscapes, Lourenço has also produced floral paintings inspired by the myriad of spring flowers she has found herself surrounded by every day and works that focus on the play of light, a successful attempt at capturing the luminescent glow of the beauty, which she discovered in the mountains of Limpopo.

She says ‘The Present, You Present’ is a reflection of some of the most precious and important times in her life, therefore, she is extremely excited to share these works and to bring them home to Thapong. Lourenço’s upcoming exhibition brings to life the nostalgic memories of the artist’s past and celebrates the now by presenting the public with some of her most expressive paintings. Alongside these works, older, larger pieces will be available for viewing as well. Visitors will be drawn into the time and space of the painter that inspired her to become who she is today.