Art meets nature with donation of 15 Smit-sculptures

A total of 15 works of a world-famous sculptor known for his large-scale sculptures and public art exhibitions, Anton Smit, will be seen at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden in future.

Set against a backdrop of manicured lawns, trees, flower beds and succulent gardens, the epic sculptures come alive, each with their own identity.

Smit’s collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) to instal the works at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden will be extended even further. Some of his sculptures will also be installed at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Johannesburg as well as at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in 2025.

Some of the works at the Pretoria Garden include Faith with loin cloth, In Moment Series – V, Stream of Consciousness, The Walking Man and Colossal Youth.

A friendly and affable Smit told Rekord at the launch of the sculptures on November 27 that the works were chosen to show the interconnectedness of humans with nature.

He explained that his inspiration is derived from the interconnectedness of people.

“The power to love and hope. We twist and turn in a vain effort to break free, only to be deeply woven into the fabric of man’s epic journey. These works speak of inner and spiritual peace. This is the message that I would like to communicate to people who come for a walk or a run or perhaps just for a day in nature among the busyness of living in a city,” said Smit.

This is clearly shown by some of the inscriptions on the sculptures. The sculpture Colossal Youth carries a poem by Smit himself:

“My flesh covers the tough clay,my bones to rock are metamorphosed,
that’s the cold northern star burning
in my eyes, those legs, those thighs
my monstrous trunk, my erect head,
here it ends.”

Smit (70) was born in Boksburg and thanks his father for getting him a job at the police museum, as the artists there taught him much about how to make moulds.

He began exhibiting art in 1976 in South Africa and in 1979, won the South African Association of Arts’ New Signatures competition. His first solo exhibition in 1980 was held at the Beuster-Skolimowski Gallery in Pretoria with further local exhibitions throughout the 1980s.

The first international exhibitions of Smit’s work were held in 1991 in Rome and Milan, followed by solo exhibitions in Singapore in 1993 and at the Omni Gallery, New York in 1994.

He is widely known for his 2-3m high heads and monumental bronze sculptures of which more than 600 can be seen on the northern side of the Bronkhorstspruit Dam at The Anton Smit Sculpture Park.

His body of work comprises human figures, nudes, masks, hands, angels, floating and stretching figures, as well as abstract works in steel, metal, stones, a unique iron and polymer cast mixture, and bronze.

He often tackles themes around the beauty of Africa and her people, but also themes around human strength and the power to believe in a better future.

There is also a deeply spiritual aspect to this artist deeply devoted to his art and his faith, like one of the sculptures which can now be seen in the garden with the title, Faith II with loincloth, which carries an inscription from Psalm 23 from the Bible.

Two more themes that are important in the works donated to the Garden are love and freedom.

One of Smit’s favourite sculptures emphasising his faith, placed in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall near the Milk Plum Café, is that of a man with a dove on his head, entitled: Voëlvry.

He relates that one day when he entered his studio, a dove flew down and momentarily perched and balanced on his head.

“That was a truly spiritual moment to me, making me think of the Biblical story of doves being a symbol of peace. It also reminded me of the story of John in the Bible who recalled the moment when he saw the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus during his baptism like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him,” said Smit.

Visitors to the Garden can take a walk around a series of colourful 3m-high heads with strong profiles, painted in bright colours, each actually being a painting in among the green area.

“These heads are Easter Island-inspired sculptures and I have asked a graffiti artist, Mars, to individually paint each with the four element themes of earth, wind, fire and air plus a fourth theme of a green celebration. This to me resembles nature’s powers and rhythms.”

Easter Island is an island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The island is renowned for its nearly 1 000 monumental statues, which were created by the early island residents.

To Smit, sculpture is also the embodiment of poetry, and that is why you will often find his work, like those now in the Pretoria National Botanical Garden, inscribed with his own writing, as well as the poetry and wisdom of others.

“Poetry is very much part and parcel of my work.”

– Click here to see a video of a group of works of Smit in the Pretoria Botanical Garden:

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.