Best of GradEx presents a carefully curated selection of works by the top-performing graduates from the Stellenbosch University Visual Arts Department of 2024. GradEx, an abbreviation of Graduate Exhibition, takes place at the end of each year and showcases the work of fourth-year visual art students, comprising three streams: Fine Art, Visual Communication Design, and Jewellery Design. Art and design, approached as forms of conceptual inquiry and visual exploration, are represented in the works exhibited, each of which is grounded in a robust theoretical foundation, reflective of the research component of the graduates' final year of study.

While this exhibition features a diverse range of works, each displaying a variety of materials, techniques, and concepts that merit individual reflection, Best of GradEx also invites viewers to consider the ways in which these artworks - despite the distinct specialisations of each artist - intersect and engage with one another. Themes of memory, identity, and personal experience permeate the space, with several artists exploring the intricate connections between cultural heritage, personal history, and materiality, prompting consideration of how individual and collective memory is represented and preserved. Notions of identity are further examined through gender, sexuality, and embodiment, with works encouraging critical engagement on how bodies are perceived and how gendered constructions can be challenged through material engagement. Other artists and designers address environmental and ecological issues, from the exploitation of non-human beings to the hidden effects of synthetic textiles on health, highlighting the impact and consequences of human activity and consumer culture. Similarly, the ways in which material culture shapes identity and social relations are critiqued through the decontextualisation of everyday objects. Finally, this exhibition features works that delve into spirituality, symbolism and cultural narratives that consider how art can confront a global climate of violence and reflect the symbolic power embedded in cultural expressions, through visual metaphors.     

Ultimately, Best of GradEx offers a multifaceted exploration of how contemporary art and design practices challenges, reflect, and redefine our understanding of the world around us.

Please join us for the opening event for the Best of GradEx exhibition on Friday, 10 January from 18:00 - 20:00. 

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We look forward to seeing you there!