DURBANVILLE HILLS LAUNCHES OPEN AIR ART GALLERY

Durbanville Hills has just launched their open air art gallery. I attended the opening night and was pleasantly surprised.There is literally nowhere in Durbanville with views like this, fine wine, fine dining AND an open air art gallery except for Durbanville Hills.Why not end off a hard day's work with sundowners, modern art and a delightful dinner. This gets my nod of approval most definitely!Only a short 20 minute drive outside of Cape Town.Durbanville Hills is the ideal setting for art lovers to enjoy contemporary art in a scenic open air environment while sipping on a glass of Durbanville Hills wine. Art@DurbanvilleHills, the newly launched exhibition and latest addition to the winery, is an experience-based sculpture garden and gallery that offers visitors a truly cultural journey. Kate Jackson, Destination Manager of Durbanville Hills, says that the outdoor exhibition space will boast an evolving collection of monumental works produced by both local and international artists. “The sculptures will be situated among the beautiful garden setting just outside of the tasting room, instead of being housed inside a traditional gallery. This means guests can now look forward to a full sensory experience when visiting the winery, extending from the sculpture garden to the tasting room and restaurant.”She explains that in addition to bringing internationally acclaimed artists’ works to South Africa, the gallery will also provide a platform on which South African talent can be recognised on an international level, which is sure to create great opportunities for local artists. “Our aim is to create a residency for both local and international artists - producing a cross-pollination of art.”Dirk Durnez, impresario for Art@DurbanvilleHills, says that the aim of the project is to create a meaningful art experience that triggers powerful emotions, ignites stimulating debate and encourages social interaction with the various pieces on show. “The sculpture garden will provide visitors ‘edutainment’ as we believe that art should be fun and engaging.“The first exhibition incorporates works from three exciting local artists from various corners of South Africa – each bringing their own distinctive styles to the garden. Ruhan Janse van Vuuren creates unique figurative artworks which are both technically apt and visually engaging. Each sculpture is modelled on every day people, with each figure containing imperfection that draws one closer, creating works that are real and human.The second artist, Marke Meyer, is essentially a poet at heart. Having abandoned the pen and paper in exchange for space itself, he now uses sculpture to create his own unique, quirky concoction of ‘visual poetry’. The final artist exhibiting is Andre Stead, who focuses primarily on figurative sculpture work and the development of contemporary sculpture installations in modern materials.” The first exhibition runs until 24 June 2017. Following that, visitors can look forward to a full season of art including pop-up exhibitions such as the popular travelling Saadjies exhibition, as well as live artists working at the winery. For more information, please contact the winery on 021 558 1300 or info@durbanvillehills.co.za or contact Dirk Durnez dirk@cast.capetown.About Durbanville Hills:A place where city culture and viticulture connect, Durbanville Hills is located a mere 20 minutes away from the Cape Town city centre, standing proud against the Tygerberg Hills. The winery not only offers a spectacular view of Table Mountain, Table Bay and Robben Island, but also an extraordinary terroir that moderates temperatures, one of the main contributing factors that shape the lively harmonious wines of Durbanville Hills.