Norman CATHERINE (b. 1949)
Cactus Man
1982
lithoprint
edition 87/90
54 x 45 cm
Organic Lure
1973
airbrush on paper
24.5 x 26 cm
A Red and Blue Nose
year unknown
auto-laquer on fibre glass mounted on grass on hessian
11 x 40 x 30 cm
A Red and Blue Torso
year unknown
auto-laquer on fibre glass mounted on grass on hessian
82 x 30 x 40 cm
BIOGRAPHY
Norman Catherine was born in East London, South Africa. Apart from the two years he spent studying art at the EL Technical College Art School (1967 – 1968), he is largely self-taught. He has been living at Hartbeespoort Dam since 1975, but spent time during the 1980s living in Los Angeles and New York.
He works in various media including painting, sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, wall hangings and bronze, and has been an influence on many younger artists. Catherine’s art imbibes a dystopian vision of the socio-political landscape that informs his psyche. History, horror, crime, conflict, psychoses, politics and pathologies serve as stimuli for his creative output, which vacillates between the macabre and the comic, between a gasp and a giggle. He conveys his cynical vision through a juxtaposition of dark and light sensibilities veering between an internal hallucinatory realm and literal commentary on the material world.
His prodigious output has been engaging art enthusiasts since 1969 when he held his first solo exhibition in Johannesburg. He has exhibited extensively in South Africa and internationally. His work is included in most South African Art Museums and Corporate collections as well as in the collections of MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) and the Brooklyn Museum, both in NYC, USA.