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First SA Tretchikoff exhibition delights

Cape Town – “It is wonderful to see his work together like this, it is sad that it never happened in his lifetime,”  said Mimi Mercorio, daughter of  artist Vladimir Tretchikoff.

The First complete showcase of Tretchikoff (1913 – 2006) in South Africa, Tretchikoff: The Peoples Painter, opened at the Iziko: National Art Museum in Cape Town on Thursday.

The key work of the exhibition, The Chinese Girl arrived a mere two hours before the opening.

“It was a close call,” said curator Andrew Lampreght, relieved to see the exhibition realized after three years of hard work.

“This work, is South Africa’s Mona Lisa; more prints of her have sold than that of the Mona Lisa. It is the first time that the original work is showcased in South Africa. A nineteen-year-old girl bought it in the fifties; she emptied her bank account and came to an agreement with Tretchikoff to pay him in monthly installments.”

Monica Pon Su San who posed for the portrait was also among the 500 or so distinguished guests. The showcase was the brainchild of fashion designer Marianne Fassier who owns many Tretchikoff prints.

“I like his work so much, I find him daring and anti-establishment” said Fassier. “Anyone who said that he wasn’t a great artist can now see that he was”.

Lampreght agreed, “Everyone has his own opinion about Tretchikoff, he evokes an instinctive response from people. So many of us only know him for his prints. Come and see his original works, come with a fresh eye and decide for yourself.”

Laughing all the way

Tretchikoff made prints of his works because he believed that art should be within reach of the working classes.

The project’s biggest challenge was to track down the works. Tretchikoff painted daily and produced a mountain of work. The income he received from his art is comparable to that of Picasso.

Tretchikoff coined the saying “laughing all the way to the bank”.

Lampreght said that some of the owners were found through a genealogy study. “Each of the 60 or so owners had to be persuaded to part with their beloved art works for four months.”

Tretchikoffs granddaughter supported Lampreght. Some of his earliest works as well as the works he created whilst imprisoned in Java and his latest work, which dates from the seventies, can be seen.

And for those who cannot obtain the originals; there is always the gallery gift shop.

A bag of Tretchikoffee is available at R95, printed pillows, large and small at R950 and R800, and every possible work can be bought as a print at R800 a piece.

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