Artist Edmund Salomons at his exhibition at the Alliance Française du Cap.
Image: Image supplied
Rondebosch artist Edmund Salomons, 80, expresses his love for the Drakensberg region in his latest exhibition.
His exhibition, Drakensberg memories and windmills of the mind, was launched at the Alliance Française du Cap last Thursday, April 3.
“The exhibition will display how the Drakensberg can be seen, and it shows the realistic landscapes and brings back 35 years of memories in the time that I was living in that region,” he says.
Mr Salomons was originally born in Volksrust in the Mpumalanga province. His life had many journeys which led him on the road to becoming an artist today. He originally studied agriculture at the University of Pretoria but later pursued a law degree through the University of South Africa (UNISA) and practised as an attorney at a Pretoria-based firm.
Even though he was an accomplished attorney, he always had a passion for nature. He belonged to a mountain club and took up rock climbing as a hobby. His love for being near mountains led him to climb one of the mountain ranges in the Himalayas in the late 1970s.
Mr Salomons would eventually leave his career as an attorney behind after six years, to move to Drakensberg to open up his very own lodge. “I wanted to move close to the mountains to take people out to hike and climb,” he says.
He owned that lodge for 35 years and during his time in the Drakensberg, he met a ceramic artist by the name of Fee Berning, who inspired him to follow art. “She told me I should learn to paint, I went for a few lessons with her, and I painted during the winter in the Drakensberg,” he says.
Mr Salomons sold his lodge in 2019 and moved to an apartment in Rondebosch in 2022. He brought with most of the art he worked on in the Drakensberg which he completed here, and he also produced new artwork from scratch.
“I always fancied living in Cape Town, it has amazing scenery like the sea and mountain and the way of life,” he says.
After moving to Rondebosch, he had his art exhibited at a studio in the City Bowl. His art is also on display at a hotel in Stellenbosch and at the Old Village in Citrusdal.
His latest exhibition consists of 22 pieces painted mainly on canvas.
“When I am busy painting, I don’t think of anything else, I listen to music and get completely taken up by what I am doing,” he says.
The Drakensberg memories and windmills of the mind exhibition will run until Monday April 28 at the Alliance Française du Cap, 155 Loop Street, Cape Town. It is open from 9.15am until 5.15pm on Mondays to Fridays and from 9am until 1pm on Saturdays. For more information visit https://www.afcapetown.co.za/ or email info@afcapetown.co.za or call 021 423 5699.
Edmund Salomons's The Drakensberg Amphitheatre.
Image: Image supplied