Noeleen Kleve
4th year B Visual Art in progress (UNISA)
Primarily a printmaker, I enjoy engaging intuitively in a variety of techniques and processes. My work investigates social relationships and connections as well as environmental concerns about which I am passionate. I find etching a wonderfully expressive technique that lends itself to experimentation and unanticipated inspiration. Through the process of etching, R.E.M.[INI]SENSE series excavates memory and the transitions experienced in a woman’s passage through time. More recent work focuses on current environmental threats to the honeybee. My hand-cut work and embossed images of meandering bee flight paths and the fragile qualities of bee wings suggest both our destruction and dependence on these vital pollinators. I also have a passion for charcoal drawing and cyanotype and often work with sculptural forms and digital imaging to extend visual metaphors in the work.
Noeleen Kleve recently set up her printmaking studio in Kommetjie where she lives, allowing her the time and space to engage with her passion and to process her etchings at home. She enjoys immersing herself in the process of intricate mark-making to describe her subject matter. Born in East London, she later moved to Cape Town where she obtained her Diploma in Graphic Design at the Ruth Prowse School of Art. Currently in her fourth year of study for a Bachelor of Visual Art through the University of South Africa (Unisa) she enjoys charcoal, cyantope and sculpture but has more recently discovered her proclivity for printmaking. Her creative methodology embraces the visual expression of themes and concepts about which she is passionate, including social relationships and connections as well as environmental concerns.
Selected Exhibitions:
2011
'Berg' exhibition, (Athol Fugard Festival,Nieu Bethesda)
'Print' exhibition, (Rust-en-Vrede, Cape Town)
'Animals in law and society: perspectived from Africa and beyond' exhibition, (Unisa, Pretoria)
Unisa 3rd Year group exhibition (art.b, Cape Town)
2010
‘[In]sight’ exhibition, (Rust-en-Vrede, Cape Town)
Aardvark Gallery (Cape Town)
Art Competitions (finalist)
2011
Sasol New Signatures (Pretoria)
Vuleka Awards (art.b Cape Town)
Thami Mnyele Awards (Johannesburg)
What is your favourite film of all time?!
Baghdad Café, Little Miss Sunshine
What music are you currently listening to and why?
Jazz – contemporary, swing and funk – and usually classical music while I’m working
Which living artists do you most admire and why?
William Kentridge for his versatility and insightfulness; Lyndi Sales for her conceptual prowess; I also admire the work of Julie Mehretu and Paul Emmanuel
Which deceased artist do you most admire and why?
Monet – for his masterful ability to capture serenity; Klimt for his innovative and iconic images; Louise Bourgeois; Robert Rauschenberg, Van Gogh, Escher, amongst many others
Which exhibition that you have visited made the greatest impact on you and why?
Lyndi Sales – 1 in 11 000 000 chances. This exhibition opened my eyes to the possibilities of conceptual art and ignited new inspiration in my work. She has incredible aesthetic sensibility and I admire her meticulous attention to technical detail.
What is the question you get asked most frequently about your work and how do you answer it?
What is your work about? I like to give visual clues and allow people to respond to the work themselves.
What/ who inspired you to be an artist?
My inherent aspiration to interpret life through creating visual works
Can you tell us about where you make your art and what if any, the significance this location has.
I recently set up my printmaking
studio in Kommetjie where I live, which allows me the time and space to
engage with my passion and to process my etchings at home.
What do you like most about being an artist?
The hands on, tactility of the process and becoming immersed in the creative space. Also the ability to have a voice through my art.
What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?
Exhibiting work which I have developed conceptually and selling out at my first print exhibition.
What are your plans for the coming year?
To be inspired, to learn, love, grow and share.