LOT 2: Norman Catherine – Bird Watch

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Norman Catherine was born in 1949 in East London, South Africa. He attended EL Technical College Art School from 1967-­‐1968 where he completed an art matric. Other than these 2 years at the Tech, he is for the most part self-­‐taught. He currently lives at the Hartbeespoort Dam where he has been since 1975. During the 1980’s he spent time living in Los Angeles and New York. He works in various media including painting, sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, wall hangings and bronze and has been an influence on many younger artists.

‘History, horror, crime, conflict, psychoses, politics & pathologies serve as stimuli for my creative output. My subject matter vacillates between the macabre and the comic, between a gasp and a chuckle from a juxtaposition of dark and light sensibilities. It is a satirical social commentary on the idiosyncrasies of the human condition. My work is inspired by traditional African sculpture, folk art, outsider art, antiquities and primitive art. I work in a variety of media that includes painting, sculpture, print-­‐making, tapestry. I don’t follow any art classification dogmas or rigid definitions in the process of creating and have developed my own lexicon of archetypes in the various media that I work in.’