By Nangamso Mabindla
9 May 2008

THE opening of a unique art exhibition was well received at East London's Ann Bryant Art Gallery on Thursday, 8 May.

The exhibition by Aubrey Klinkradt and his son Gary features oil and bonsai. It is the first father and son exhibition at the gallery, and Klinkradt senior simply hopes that art lovers enjoy the show.

"We have 112 artworks for this exhibition, and we really enjoyed putting it up together. Though the purpose is to sell, we wanted to come up with an exhibition that showed our love for art."

He has a serious illness, and said that he used art as part of his rehabilitation.

"I use a variety of subjects but I mainly concentrate on landscapes and seascapes; however, I throw in the occasional animal. My son and I are not full-time artists, so we put in a lot of work for this exhibition, but the most important thing was that we enjoyed doing it."

The response to the exhibition was proof of this enjoyment, and the pair sold 31 paintings on the opening night.

Klinkradt junior is also exhibiting bonsai, the ancient Japanese art form in which the artist dwarfs trees by pruning them carefully. These works are not for sale.

Talking about the possibility of making the Father and Son exhibition an annual event, the elder Klinkradt said that it would depend on the response to the initial show.

"As I said, we want people to enjoy the show. And if they do, we might think about hosting this kind of exhibition next year."

Father and Son closes on Saturday, 24 May. For more information about the gallery and future exhibitions, phone 043 722 4044, email annbryant@intekom.co.za or visit the gallery at St Marks Road in Southernwood, East London.