If you've visited our Cape Town gallery recently, you would've seen some of
Gary Frier's beautiful portraits. His portrait paintings will also be exhibited as part of our group exhibition 'Beneath the Skin', opening on 2 June. But Gary is not only a portrait painter - Gary finds expression and inspiration in many forms of media. Gary states: "Creating art for me is about constantly reflecting on my place in the world, discovering how to distill and interpret my interaction with what surrounds me and documenting that personal relationship."
Gary has been creating artwork for the Delville Wood Memorial in Longueval, France, which is dedicated to the men who served with the South African forces in the Great War. The artwork includes silhouettes of cultural, historical and ethic significance which have been printed 3m high as an interior display, as well as illustrations depicting African laborers and soldiers during World War I. This forms part of the initial phase to update the historical record and acknowledge in particular people of color who labored during that time.
Gary was also recently commissioned by Summitdogs, an American organization that trains dogs as helpers for the disabled. Decorating a plaster replica of a fire hydrant, Gary used Khoi San rock art as his inspiration to create a 2-dimensional relief artwork on the surface of the hydrant using air dried clay and acrylic paint.
