International Launch for Benguela Cove Exhibition Artists

Three artists featured at Benguela Gallery near Hermanus have achieved their UK debut in a new exhibition at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens in West Sussex. Works by modern South African artists Anina Deetlefs, Xolani Sivunda, and Floris van Zyl are now on display at the historic estate, described as ‘the finest woodland gardens in England’. 

Visitors to Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate in South Africa can still see works by the artists in ‘The Art of Living Exhibition: 30 African Artists.’ There is free entrance to the estate and its gallery, which is open for public viewing daily from 10am to 6pm. No booking is required and guests can view the art while enjoying the award-winning wines from the estate. 

The UK show coincides with South African sculptor Anton Smit's successful residency at Leonardslee, where he has established a sculpture park, one of the largest in Europe by a single artist. The Walk of Life exhibition includes more than 80 figurative pieces, each positioned by the artist to take full advantage of the valley and lakeside locations in the estate's 240-acre, Grade 1 Listed gardens. His work features prominently at Benguela Cove. 

Penny Streeter OBE, the owner of both the Benguela Cove and Leonardslee estates, is a major supporter of the arts in South Africa and the United Kingdom. “We are excited to have South African artists of international acclaim for both our galleries. It is important to foster the arts and encourage new and aspiring artists, especially in these challenging times” she says. 

Anina Deetlefs was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a degree in graphic design in 1995. She says that the purpose of her art is to capture a woman's inherent, natural strength: 

“Women artists are becoming more widely recognised for their personal, artistic insight into the human spirit and the need to preserve that spirit through the power of the natural world. The world within is the cause, while the world outside is the effect. We have control only over our inner world, which is a place of transformation and growth. Much like the caterpillar wrapped in her silky shroud, who begins the long transformation from chrysalis to butterfly, we too have the ability to transform, to move forward, to grow and to change. That is where the art lies.” 

Xolani Sivunda is from South Africa's Eastern Cape, where he began his life in the mining industry. Art provided an escape from the mines. A professional artist for over a decade, he graduated from the Spier Arts Academy, and this will be his first exhibition outside of Southern Africa. 

Sivunda is a co-founder of Open HeART Studios in Mfuleni, Cape Town. This registered community charity was established to teach, inspire, and empower individuals through the medium of art. It mentors aspiring artists from the townships and offers studio space, tools, and exhibition opportunities. 

Sivunda's portraiture gained national recognition when he was chosen to paint a retrospective portrait of Nokutela Dube (1872-1917), the first South African woman to establish a school. She received South Africa's highest honour, the Order of the Golden Baobab, 100 years after her death in 2017. 

Floris van Zyl is an expressionist painter who studied graphic design in the early 1990s and created his own design firm, before he returned to painting in 2010. He has produced around 600 oil paintings - landscapes, still-lifes, portraits, animals, and other figure studies have all been sold globally. 

Leonardslee features his figure studies, with each piece communicating different emotions, from reflective love in Miss Helen’s Rose, to vocal exhilaration in Screaming King, to the mystical in Sanctuary. Through the use of colour, expressionist technique and subject matter, these paintings appeal on several levels. Floris uses the pallet knife with gusto to create expressive emotions.  

Following his own creative path has been crucial to Floris van Zyl's artistic development, he says: “It's my connection to the world, it’s what I can create and grow; where I can find and express inspiration. My art carries me spiritually and physically; it is my way to give and to create, giving me purpose to carry me through life.” 

Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate 

Hermanus, South Africa 

The Art of Living Exhibition 

https://www.benguelagalleries.com/the-art-of-living-exhibition 

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Editors notes

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is a vineyard estate, near Horsham in West Sussex, which features ‘the finest woodland gardens in England’, Grade I Listed, a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury vineyard accommodation. The 240-acre estate was established by Sir Edmund Loder, the great Victorian plant collector, and now includes a Sussex Wine vineyard, with the first release of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier sparkling wine in 2024. Since further restoration work in 2021, visitors can also stay in the luxury vineyard hotel after dining at Restaurant Interlude in Leonardslee House, the Grade II Listed Italianate mansion house, to experience the multi-course tasting menu created by Michelin Star chef Jean Delport.

The estate reopened in April 2019, following the acquisition and two years’ intensive work by entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE to restore the woodland gardens after eight years of closure and neglect under previous ownership. It was the largest UK garden restoration project since Heligan some 30 years before.

Visitors can see a unique doll’s house exhibition that depicts the Edwardian era estate and neighbouring villages at 1:12 scale. They can then enjoy a classic afternoon tea in the Grade II Listed mansion house and dine in Restaurant Interlude.

Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens offers a great family day out and is open all year round except Christmas Day. There is an extensive programme of entertainment that includes winter garden illuminations, wine and beer festivals, photo and art exhibitions, live music events, cooking and gardening demonstrations, arts and crafts fairs, modelling and toy shows, children’s events and adventure trails.