For the longest time chefs were never seen nor heard. In many eateries chefs were tucked away and their sole purpose was to design a menu, if they were not given one by the owners or the maître d and push out plates.
Starting with Mr Oliver and the Lovely Lawson lady, food, becoming a chef (as a career) and the idea of 14 hour work days were sensationalized to create concrete foundations of the Commercial television careers for chefs such as Gordon Ramsey, Heston Blumenthal and Rick Steyn.
Years later, beautifully curated food and the multifaceted talents of chefs are being recognized and thankfully praised as visual artworks. Naturally Chefs have transitioned their love for food to their crockery, paint colours laden on their dining room walls even the artworks that don and complete the dining experience, to emulate just that, not just eating, but a true reflective, multi-sensory expose.
This making the newest addition ART@ La Mouette a fluid integration to compliment the crisp cheesy croquettes of chef Henri with equally as taste driven art work that will soon adorn the burgundy walls of one of my most craved dining experiences in the City Bowl.
‘Light Brigade’ by Peter van Straten Oil on canvas 70 cm x 110 cm
Guests dining at La Mouette from mid-August can look forward to a selection of artworks in each dining room and throughout the lush Aubergine interior.
Claudette Robinson and the owners of La Mouette have worked together with six local artists to choose carefully considered pieces that enhance the space and create a centre piece of conversation for guests around the table.
Diners can expect to see the surrealist work of Peter van Straten, abstraction in colour by Cathy Layzell, city vistas by MJ Lourens and the ‘Sfumato’ technique of Louis Nel’s hazy seascapes and landscapes.
In addition to artworks similar to the above paintings, Frans Smit will show a work from his photographic series ‘Debitum Naturae’ (The Debt of Nature) which is an exploration of mortality. John Bauer, one of Cape Town’s most prolific contemporary ceramicists, will also be exhibiting his new ’framed Porcelain’.
For More Information: Twitter: @Art_LaMouette Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artlamouette/
