Cyril Fradan
Encyclopedia
Cyril Fradan was a South African artist
and designer
who worked almost exclusively in acrylic paints incorporating various glazing
techniques.
in 1928. He was educated, and later lectured at the University of the Witwatersrand
and held his first one-man show in Johannesburg in 1954. Relocating to London
in 1960, Fradan exhibited successfully in most British
and Europe
an art centres.
Fradan worked almost exclusively in acrylic paints and made extensive use of glazing techniques. Furthermore, was a successful and skilled exponent of the Baroque
style used in contemporary, non-figurative terms. What this means is that Fradan blends illusion
, light and colour, and a sense of passionate movement, all calculated to overwhelm the viewer by a direct emotional appeal. His use of such effects as the dissolved contour, the rendering of movement through flickering light, allied with his use of glowing colour, brought into being a style that had a profound effect on the South African audiences who saw it.
Fradan rarely titled his paintings, believing that the images evoked in the spectator by the swirling, energetic forms in his canvases were, in fact, the correct ones.
"Each viewer will see in my paintings what he wants to - I don't believe that the artist should interpose with titles, which are often misleading anyway."
As well as painting, Fradan provided costume designs for dramatic productions including the 1955 Margaret Inglis production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
. Additionally, he provided costume designs for the 1966 Gordon Crosse
production of W. B. Yeats's Purgatory.
Cyril Fradan left for Thailand
in 1986 - it is presumed he died between 1987 - 2001.
, London in 1963. His work is represented in the following public collections:
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
who worked almost exclusively in acrylic paints incorporating various glazing
Glazing
Glazing, which derives from the Middle English for 'glass', is a part of a wall or window, made of glass. Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier"...
techniques.
Life and work
One of South Africa's foremost painters, Cyril Fradan was born in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in 1928. He was educated, and later lectured at the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
and held his first one-man show in Johannesburg in 1954. Relocating to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1960, Fradan exhibited successfully in most British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an art centres.
Fradan worked almost exclusively in acrylic paints and made extensive use of glazing techniques. Furthermore, was a successful and skilled exponent of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style used in contemporary, non-figurative terms. What this means is that Fradan blends illusion
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
, light and colour, and a sense of passionate movement, all calculated to overwhelm the viewer by a direct emotional appeal. His use of such effects as the dissolved contour, the rendering of movement through flickering light, allied with his use of glowing colour, brought into being a style that had a profound effect on the South African audiences who saw it.
Fradan rarely titled his paintings, believing that the images evoked in the spectator by the swirling, energetic forms in his canvases were, in fact, the correct ones.
"Each viewer will see in my paintings what he wants to - I don't believe that the artist should interpose with titles, which are often misleading anyway."
As well as painting, Fradan provided costume designs for dramatic productions including the 1955 Margaret Inglis production of Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. Additionally, he provided costume designs for the 1966 Gordon Crosse
Gordon Crosse
Gordon Crosse is an English composer.-Biography:Crosse was born in Bury, Lancashire and in 1961 graduated from St Edmund Hall, Oxford with a first class honours degree in Music. He then undertook two years of postgraduate research on early fifteenth-century music before beginning an academic...
production of W. B. Yeats's Purgatory.
Cyril Fradan left for Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in 1986 - it is presumed he died between 1987 - 2001.
Exhibitions
Cyril Fradan has exhibited extensively - including at the Royal AcademyRoyal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London in 1963. His work is represented in the following public collections:
- South African National Gallery, Cape Town
- Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (King George VI Art Gallery), Port Elizabeth
- Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
- Pietersburg Art Museum, Polokwane
- INISA, Pretoria
Solo exhibitions
- 1961: Woodstock Gallery, London
- 1962: Galerie d'Eendt, Amsterdam; Galerie Kobenhaven, Copenhagen; Mercury Gallery, London; Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester
- 1964: Mercury Gallery, London
- 1965: Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester; Galerie Sothmann, Amsterdam; Ash Barn Gallery, Petersfield
- 1966: Mercury Gallery, London; Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester
- 1967: Plymouth Art Centre, Plymouth
- 1968: Gallery 101, Johannesburg; Wolpe Gallery, Cape Town; Galerie Sothmann, Amsterdam; Galerie Werkstatt, Bremen
- 1969: Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester; York Festival, York; Galerie du Theatre, Geneva
- 1970: Lidchi Gallery Gallery, Johannesburg; Kapian Gallery, Cape Town
- 1971: Galerie Balans, Amsterdam
- 1973: Arts Council Gallery, Belfast; Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham
- 1974: Ansdell Gallery, London
- 1975: Galerie du Theatre, Geneva
- 1976: Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg; Goodman-Wolman Gallery, Cape Town; Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
- 1977: S.A. Association of Arts, Pretoria; Neil Sack Gallery, Durban
- Since 1979, annual exhibitions and music recitals at his Studio in London
- 1983: Gallery 21, Johannesburg
External links
- http://www.pelmama.org/FRADAN.htm