We attended a function at the Norval Foundation Gallery
in Constantia late last year and wanted to go back and have lunch at Skotnes
restaurant and see the gallery. We headed there this week but, unfortunately,
picked a bad week to see the art. All the galleries were closed as exhibitions
were changing . However we had a great lunch, became Members and had a good
walk in the garden and a small tour inside. Becoming a member is easy, and has
real benefits. You get free entrance for a year and discounts in the restaurant
and in the shop. https://www.norvalfoundation.org/membership/
The building is very
impressive. Designed by architect Derick Henstra, "it is in horizontal
mode rather than high rise", we were told by gallery staff
We love the
wide open spaces, the different shapes, curves and textures in the building, perfect
for displaying art
The innovative
reception area
The shop is filled
with well-designed things to buy
including Skotnes
Wines
The restaurant has
a separate entrance outside the main gallery
Reservations are
recommended
Spacious and light
inside
Sunny with shade
outside, but you have to book to sit on the terrace
A walkway through
the reeds and a house of one of the owners with sculptures by Eduardo Villa
Good beer on tap
Attractive table settings
It became busy
Made for the
restaurant by Deux Frères http://www.dfwines.co.za/
Lynne had a glass with her lunch
The lunch menu
Bread sticks served
with butter and a vegetable purée
A refreshing ale
from Jack Black
Nice touches, cloth
napkins
Lynne ordered the classic
Caesar Salad with soft boiled eggs, boccarones, and smoked salmon
The melba toast replaced the
croutons. It was a large and satisfying portion
While the wooden bowl is very
attractive, serving a salad in it does present a challenge
when you have to cut the
ingredients into mouth sized portions. We did mention this to the restaurant
John had the hamburger with
crisp, triple cooked fries
and a good
double espresso which came with a crisp biscuit
Some tourists from
Europe drinking Aperol
Our bill. They took
off the second portion of salmon which we had not ordered
The open kitchen is
on the side of the restaurant, near the entrance
We wondered what
the bin was for
until we saw the
other side
And people do.
Local and foreign currency
There was a tour at 2 and our
very friendly and informative guide was Ally Martinez,
who gave us brief walk past views of the new
exhibitions in the galleries being set up to open soon
The artist who designed
Structural Response III, the thicket, barrier, bewilderment of wood filling the
atrium space
It is quite profound in
meaning
His installation. It is not
permanent and will be removed in a few months time and replaced with another
installation
This will be the On the Mines
by David Goldblatt from 13 February
At the end of the corridor is
Gallery 8, where the exhibition will be Labour of Many: Ibrahim Mahama February
13th
Gallery One will
have the Collectors Focus:
Nudes in The Sanlam
Art Collection February 13th
Art books in the
library
Concerts are held
in this small amphitheatre in the garden
The serving staff
were very friendly, efficient and helpful
A view of the sculpture
garden from the balcony upstairs
In the centre you can see
Victor Ehikhamenor's Isimagodo (The Unknowable)
Lynne really liked
this sculpture by Sydney Kumalo
You get a view of
the back of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak from the terrace
It’s a lot of bull!
We love the irony and the wit
Great from all
angles
Riding on the back
of an ape
The wetlands are
filled with leopard toads, which you can hear making their music at sundown
A stupendous sculpture. Angus
Taylor’s Holderstebolder (2018), created entirely out of Belfast granite, steel
and concrete
which the children are
encouraged to climb all over
Looking back at the
Norval Institute
And wonderful aged gums give
shade to some of the sculptures
There is an army of gardeners
working in this well designed space
Dancing rabbits by
Guy du Toit
Real reflections
from Mark Swart’s Voyage
With ship like
curves
And Ophelia in Africa, based
on Sir John Everett Millais, work. Nandipha Mntambo’s 2015 sculpture
In Mntambo’s interpretation
of Ophelia, a character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the artist places
herself in the role
Different from many
angles is Wim Botha's Prism (Flush)
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