PHOTOS Brooke Auchincloss, Bryan Viljoen WORDS Debbie Loots
There’s something just wonderful about Cape Town artist Galia Gluckman’s obsessively constructed waste- paper land- and seascape collages – and we’re not just talking knife-cutting prowess or that it’s all super green. It’s also about how she layers her glued cut-outs, paints into them, and repeats the time-consuming process to give her large artworks a deeper dimension.
The results are as striking as they are moving. Her piece, “Nest”, showed at the Cape Town Art Fair this year and she’s currently busy with new works, saying only that it “involves an obscene amount of cut-up strips reminiscent of piled up matches.”
Where were you born?
In Tel Aviv and I grew up in Durban.
How did you become a full-time artist?
I lived in London and New York as a fashion designer and traded it all in nine years ago to become a full-time artist. Since then I’ve won the Global Green Artist Challenge at the International Art Expo in New York in 2009, and exhibited in California, Boston and Cape Town.
What was it like living in London and New York?
It was monumental! London is loud and home to the Tate Modern. I loved New York’s 24-hour-living-and-working lifestyle.
Why did you move back to South Africa?
Many reasons, but most important was family lifestyle.
How do your South African roots influence your work?
My work is full of the flavours and beautiful colours of South Africa.
What is it about shredded paper that appeals to you?
I enjoy the process of cutting and pasting. It is almost like meditation. Each strip of paper, however seemingly insignificant, becomes significant.
Any famous fans of your work?
The founder of The Body Shop, and the Rupert family collection.
Limited-edition works available from R12 000 to R30 000.
galiagluckman.com