As part of the research for a Masters in Visual Art, this exhibition focused on dimensions of exploring the aesthetic of the sublime, searching for visual equivalents to that which is beyond understanding. The project engaged with aspects of healing and meditation, and spaces of contemplation, using natural imagery and the human form.
In her opening address Prof Elfriede Dreyer (Pretorius) noted:
In an age of scepticism, irony and loss of belief and meaning, Gwenneth Miller's aesthetic is one that postulates restoration, hope and redemption, and in a sense affords her work a character of distinct Neo-Romanticism, Her work displays an ecofeminist sensibility underpinned by the ethos of nurture, reconciliation and catharsis. When looking at Gwen's work, a sense of the sublime is experienced that functions on a spiritual and emotional level. It is a wordless sublime that propagates unification with the timelessness and universality of nature as cosmos.
Rapture. 1996-1997
Oil on wood. 162 x 122 cm. Private collection (Amanda Camacho)
Dream Park. 1996
Pastel on paper. 105.5 x 130 cm. Private Collection
Life water. 1996
Oil on wood. 85 x 50 cm. Also exhibited at the South African embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Private Collection (Sandra Prinsloo)
Leo's Tower. 1994
Oil on canvas. 90 x 60 cm. Private collection, Germany
The Tower. 1995
Oil and encaustic on paper and wood. 100 x 46 cm. Private collection
Icon for noble thoughts. 1995
Oil and encaustic on paper and wood. 96 x 38 cm. Collection of The University of North-West (Potchefstroom)
Icon for noble thoughts, detail
Oil and encaustic on paper and wood
Labyrinth. 1995
Oil on canvas and sticks. 92 x 93.5 cm. Private collection (Hazel Slabbert)
Victoria and Thomas B. 1995
Oil on wood and paper. 80 x 60 cm. Private collection (Dr Eunice Basson)
Healing Heart. 1996
Oil and encaustic on wood. 62 x 81 cm. Private collection
Healing Heart, detail
Bleeding Heart. 1996
Ink on paper. 69 x 71 cm. Artist's collection
St George and the dragon, detail. 1996
Oil on canvas. 17 x 19 cm. Artist's collection
Comfrey the healing herb. 1996
Oil on board. 27 x 23 cm. Private collection (Prof Lieze van der Watt)
Midnight growth. 1994
Ink and gouache on paper. 106 x 110 cm.
Midnight growth, detail. 1994
Nesting. 1995
Charcoal on paper. 130 x 98.5 cm. Artist's collection
River of Forgetfulness. 1997
Charcoal, Encaustic and oil on wood. 90.5 x 122 cm. Private Collection
Bridge to another world. 1996
Oil on canvas. 96 x 72 cm. Artist's collection
Energy and mystery. 1997
Oil on paper, sticks and wood panel. 75 x 134 cm. Private collection
Soulscape. 1996 - 1997
Oil and encaustic on plywood. 77 x 110 cm. Private collection
Through a glass darkly. 1997
Oil and encaustic on wood. 70 x 86.5 cm. Private collection
Map for purification. 1997
Oil and encaustic on paper and wood. 160 x 94 cm. Telkom Collection
Raw Life force. 1997
Oil on plywood and pin branches, steel support frame. 275 x 95 cm. Private collection
Spirit of a cyprus lane. 1997
Oil and encaustic on vilene. 215 x 264 cm. Private collection, Germany