Strauss & co - 5 March 2018, Cape Town

337 “In September 1978, Erik Laubscher teamed up with local sculptor June te Water for an exhibition at the Association of Arts. His paintings, previously shunned by the Cape Town public, now sold like the proverbial hot cakes and set new records for local art.”[ …] Brian Barrow observed in the Cape Times “Today [Laubscher] is a supremely confident artist, sure of himself and, above all, true to his art. With it all he still has an enthusiasm and boyish zest for life that shows no sign of diminishing. He is still looking forward and still determined to get across to the larger public that abstract art has something important and worthwhile to say”. Gill Turnbull reported in The Argus that most of the exhibited works had been sold before the opening with buyers included in the SA National Gallery and the Sanlam Collection. According to her, the work was not really abstract.“He describes it as ‘real’- but of course not in the photographic sense”. She refers to one of Laubscher’s most endearing qualities“… his peasant type of humour. His innate humility and warm personality make him approachable to even the shyest of his fans.” (Ibid, pages 172 and 173) This lot is accompanied by the Gallery Exhibition list. 604