Strauss & co - 23 May 2016, Johannesburg

248 338 Karel Anthony NEL south african 1955– Rod Latent Light dated 1991 graphite, charcoal, pastel and painted wood 174 by 296 cm R300 000 – 500 000 literature Siebrits, Warren. (March 2009) Exit Ahead Push Trolley Now , Johannesburg. Illustrated, unpaginated. Drawing is central to Karel Nel’s worldly, science-interested practice. ‘For me drawing has always been a kind of reconnaissance, a means to explore the world around me,’ he has stated. 1 This drawing was produced shortly after Nel returned to Johannesburg from an extended period abroad, notably at the University of California at Berkeley where he was a Fulbright Scholar (1988-89) and Simpson Fellow (1991). It evidences his accumulative style of drawing where ‘fugitive but precise’ elements are layered to create the final composition. 2 The work forms part of a series of drawings portraying rod-like objects. ‘The rod is a signifier of transition and power in many cultures,’ says Nel, who is an accomplished scholar of sacral objects from pre-capitalist societies. 3 The juxtaposition of the flare-like red object with a similarly scaled black rod is purposeful and speaks to the artist’s interest in mental (or eidetic) imagery. The work was acquired directly from Nel’s studio by architects Meyer Pienaar & Partners, and thereafter passed on. 1. Nel, Karel. (1999) Wedge, Johannesburg: Wits. Unpaginated catalogue for staff exhibition of Department of Fine Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, at NSA Gallery, Durban. 2. Burroughs, Elizabeth. (2015) Karel Nel: Observe , London: Art First. Page 15. 3. Telephonic interview with artist, 20 April 2016