When you visit the Anton Smit Sculpture Park near Bronkhorstspruit, Mpumalanga, South Africa, you cannot miss the road where you have to turn. On the corner a magnificent sculpture is on display. Nothing subtle about it. In fact, that is how I discovered Anton Smit and his work. We drove past the vast head once, and I begged my husband to go and explore, so we stopped for a short while. I could not even begin to take in everything that I saw, therefore I promised myself to visit again and explore at my leisure. Two weeks ago I had an entire morning to kill, and I thoroughly made use of the rare opportunity.
This photo of Anton Smit Sculpture Park is courtesy of TripAdvisor
The sculpture at the turnoff pales in comparison to the beauty that meets you inside the park. An abundance of larger than life sculptures are placed helter-skelter all over the garden. I could only gape in astonishment. The man has an utterly amazing talent. I took so many photos that I am not going to post them all at once. I want you to look at each and every photo in detail, and to show it all in one article might overwhelm your senses, as it did mine.
His work comprises extraordinary larger than life human figures, heads, angels, warriors, masks, each and everyone imbued with powerful emotion. When you look at these sculptures, it evokes almost involuntary reaction. I was at times completely overwhelmed, other times in silent awe, but never did I feel neutral when I looked at any of the pieces of art. Actually, I am sort of at a loss of words to describe my intense emotions. Maybe it will be close to the truth if I said that the sculptures emanate powerful emotions, and you cannot help but to respond to these feelings. As it was said by observers of his work:
"...his work is possessed of a raw, earthy power that feels innately African."
Anton works with a variety of mediums, including, but not limited to steel, metal, fiberglass, bronze, iron, stone and glass reinforced polymer. To me it seems that he uses whatever he deems useful. In the garden, for instance, is what seems to be a pile of bricks. However, when you look closer, it turns out to be another beautiful piece of art. The detail is incredible.
I plan to post more garden pictures in my next post. In this series about Anton Smit I will also share the inside of the gallery, my brief interview with Anton, his giant studio, as well as the unique coffee shop that is also on the premises.
APPRECIATE THE IMMENSE TALENT OF A REMARKABLE ARTIST!!!
This photo was taken by Jethro Müller, photographer and graphic designer responsible for Anton's marketing.
