Pen strokes
create
thought-provoking art
In our regular series of articles for Eish! we focus on people at the NWU who not only work hard, but also have abundant talent. In this edition we visit a staff member whose art was recently showcased at the NWU’s gallery at the Botanical Gardens in Potchefstroom.
It is often said that ink flows in storytellers’ veins but in the case of Francois Pretorius, manager of the NWU’s Creativity Centre on the Potchefstroom Campus, ink flows from the pens he uses to create captivating art that not only tells stories but is also visually impressive.
Francois’ solo exhibition, aptly titled Sigspraak (meaning face talk), was on show from 14 April to 6 May. It consists of a series of sketches he created with felt-tip markers and Indian ink.
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Francois Pretorius, manager of the NWU’s Creativity Centre on the Potchefstroom Campus, draws inspiration from traditional African art and his greatest influences include great artists such as Pablo Picasso, José Bedia and Jean Dubuffet.
Francois’s wife, Izell, bought this Fang mask for him at the Potchefstroom antique market. “These masks were some of the great artist, Amedeo Modigliani’s, main influences.” Francois says it has been confirmed that this is an authentic Fang mask.
