The trustees were delighted to receive a still life painting by the well known artist Jan Vermeiren as a gift from ABSA Private Bank for the winery. (Click on image to see larger version)
Pictured here from left are John Bos (trustee and developer), John Schooling (developer) Corius Visser, Chris van Schalkwyk (ABSA) Jan Vermeiren, Beyers Truter and Mike Voortman (chairman of trustees and developer. Pic by Maritza van Niekerk)
In making the presentation, Chris van Schalkwyk said that ABSA had selected a painting that represented the wines and winemaking lifestyle that promises to come from Croydon. The painting can be viewed in the winery.
Jan Vermeiren is an artist whose work bridges two rich and vastly different cultures. On the one hand there is his European heritage, on the other, the profound influence of Africa, which is now his home. This duality brings an exciting and unusual dimension to his work.
Jan was born in Bornem, Belgium in 1949. From a very early age drawing was an important means of expression for him and he began formal art training while still at school. Later he studied full time at the Academy St. Niklaas and the Academy of Mechelen, and then at the National Hoger Institute in Antwerp.
As a student, printmaking was his special interest, and it was only when he moved to South Africa in 1976 that he became a painter. His decision to move came after he had spent a year in the country during 1973/4 when he was invited to teach lithography. He was profoundly influenced by the extensive range of colours which he found here, after the relative greyness of Belgium. These 'African' colours are very evident in his work - both in the early tones, and in the dark, atmospheric backgrounds, which appears in his more recent work.
Although his ties in Europe are still strong, Jan feels that his work is now more African in nature. For him, the experience of Africa is one of finding his connection with primitive man, of getting to the roots of his origins. His 'African' phase has been greatly inspired by Bushmen rock paintings, which he sees as our link with primitive man.
His work is an expression not of outer reality, but of the subconscious, and it is this instinctive approach that gives his paintings their special dreamlike, spiritual quality. He asks the viewer to react on the same subconscious and spontaneous level, both to the form and content of his work. Form, he finds, evokes deep inner feelings within people, as does the use of colour and light.
His images reveals a series of archetypal symbols derived from various ancient cultures, reflecting his belief that it is these 'primitive' symbols that unite man across time and different civilisations. His aim is to bring the viewer into the spirit of Africa, to encourage a better understanding of the African identity.
This entry from Dictionary of South African Painters and Sculptors
