Rietveldpaviljoen’s latest newsletter spotlights the work of South African artist Alma Thomas under the heading 'Alma Thomas – Two continents', linking her practice to the group exhibition 'From Township to Amersfoort'. The newsletter quotes Thomas on the individuality of each piece and describes her wall hangings as works that should invite viewers to pause, wonder and return, with every 'lappie' carrying a soul and a story.
According to the newsletter, Thomas began making large wall hangings two decades ago after a career in fashion. The text says she lovingly calls the works 'lappies' in Afrikaans. It also notes that Thomas developed a special machine to produce them, operated manually by two people. After designing the image on a computer and digitally printing it on paper, she feeds it together with carefully selected fabric centimetre by centimetre through a kind of roller system. Heat applied to the paper makes the ink moist, transferring the image to the cloth.
The process is described as deliberately hand-intensive rather than purely mechanical. Because the prints are largely made by hand, the newsletter says, they sometimes show small imperfections. Thomas refers to this as the 'perfect imperfection'. That emphasis on controlled variation appears central to how the newsletter frames her work, placing technique, material selection and finish at the centre of the viewer’s experience.
The notice says Thomas’s work can be seen this summer in the exhibition 'From Township to Amersfoort'. The exhibition brings together work by eleven artists who live and work in South Africa, many of whom have roots in the townships, and sets their art in dialogue with the restrained sculptures of Amersfoort-based artist Emile van der Kruk. The newsletter adds that a film about some of the exhibitors plays continuously in the cinema room.
Rietveldpaviljoen’s broader programme places the exhibition in a wider August schedule at the venue. The newsletter says 'From Township to Amersfoort' is on view through Sunday 30 August and can be seen for the whole month of August at the Rietveldpaviljoen. Alongside that exhibition, galerieRIETVELD is showing 'Jehad Taisan. Schilderen als taal van hoop en schoonheid' through the same date range, though the newsletter keeps the two presentations separate.
The newsletter also lists a public activity tied to the South African programme: 'Wijnproeverij – From Stellenbosch to Schouwen-Duiveland' on Thursday 27 August, from 19.15 to 21.30. It says the tasting brings art and wine together, with Eric and Heidie of the Wijnbrigade selecting South African and Dutch wines for the evening.
Rietveldpaviljoen is open Thursday through Sunday from 12 to 17, with admission set at €5 and free entry for visitors under 18. The venue is listed at Zonnehof 8 in Amersfoort, while galerieRIETVELD, described as an initiative of the Rietveldpaviljoen, is at Zonnehof 4A-5A, about 50 metres away.
