Maureen Quin

– Master Sculptor –

Decades of Sculptural Excellence

The Quin Retrospective arrived home today. Still in their Pickford crates they will be unpacked in due course and placed on their stands in the garden and gallery, ready to welcome visitors this summer season. What an amazing eight months it has been. To see this body of work exhibited in these venues has been a breath taking experience.

The galleries, museums and curators have been absolutely fantastic in their support and professionalism.

In March the exhibition was opened by Prof Suzanne Human at Oliewenhuis Museum in Bloemfontein. The exhibition was very well received. Students from schools as well as the university used the opportunity to study Maureen’s work. Thank you to Ester le Roux and her team for the wonderful welcome they gave us.

John Botha opened the Quin Retrospective in Potchefstroom at the University of the North West in May. The university opened their heart to Maureen as the students and community attended her walk-abouts and took the time to learn more about Maureen and her work. Thank you to Tiina Liebenberg and her team for your support.

Sanlam in Bellville hosted the next leg of the retrospective. Thank you Stefan Hundt for your invaluable advice and wisdom.

The Eastern Cape Department of Arts and Culture invited the Quin Retrospective to East London where it was exhibited at the Ann Bryant Gallery. Thank you to Leon du Preez and his team who publicised the exhibition in the newspapers and who made this exhibition possible.

In March/April 2015 the grand finale will take place in Port Elizabeth at the GFI Gallery in Park Str Mill Park. Then later in the year a smaller, educational exhibition will be held at Unisa Gallery in Pretoria along with a seminar and educational walk-abouts for scholars and students.

Finally, I’d like to thank all Maureen’s friends, clients and students who supported her this year with their presence at the openings, with their unerring belief in her talent and ability and their generosity. This year of Retrospectives has consolidated Maureen Quin as a sculptor who has undoubtedly contributed to the South African art landscape.

To commemorate the extraordinary achievements of this artist a book, “Maureen Quin: Sixty Years of Excellence”, of significant social and academic value has been written by Virginia Reed in collaboration with Maureen Quin. A hard cover with a dust jacket, as well as a leather bound collector’s edition has been published. Among the contributors to the book are Dr. Muller Ballot, art historian, who offered to write the foreword; Professor Elizabeth Rankin, art history lecturer and historian (New Zealand) has written an essay “Memories of Maureen, Moore and Modernism”; and Deon Lemmer, artist and PhD graduate, who wrote “An exploration of the developing artistic vision of Maureen Quin from the post-Paris period onwards”. Heilna du Plooy gave us her poems on the Hunt Series to use in the book and Jay van Wyk recalls the beginnings of his Quin art collection.

Should you be interested in the retrospective and/or the book, please let us know. We will gladly send you an invite to the openings or more information on the books.