THERESA JO
PRINTMAKING





AVAILABLE
Cape Town based artist, designer, printmaker, ceramicist and metalworker, Theresa Jo Wessels has been owner and curator at Artvark Gallery in Kalk Bay for 22 years.
Since opening in 1998, Artvark Gallery which has always aimed to showcase and support South Africa’s art talent, has grown in reputation to be a well-established institution on the Cape Town Gallery circuit.
This year the Gallery is 25 years old.
My body of work as a multidisciplinary artist demonstrates an impressive versatility. I express myself through a variety of mediums, including, Jewellery making, sculpture, printmaking, photography, animation and textiles.
I am passionately creative, describing the process of creating as ‘intoxicating’, and the way in which the artwork leads me is inspiring, unintentional and distinctive.
My approach to the materials with which I work is inherently playful and exploratory.
I am unconventional, and find that by eschewing conventional rules, new and interesting combinations and unique outcomes are revealed by means of innovation.
With relevance to my etching and mark making, I appreciate how the interplay of aspects of control and the unknown inform the process. It is this challenge, “to move from complete chaos on your desk to a sterile environment where mishaps are fatal”, that I find inspiring. I follow the tenet of "Undisciplined imagination with disciplined execution”. This, in my view unites the polarities of discipline - the element of uncontrollability of the monoprint and the precision of etching.
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This pair of artworks narrate the tale of our contemporary globe, where numerous individuals must depart from the steadiness, safety, and familiarity of their households and native lands, to gamble their lives in the face of uncertainty, disorder, and devastation.
The print titled "Leaving” depicts an etching that faithfully reproduces the
matrix found on the brass plate.
"Leaving I" is a monoprint that conveys the notion of risk and unpredictability.



Theresa Jo
Leaving
Etching on Fabriano
Print size: 54 cm x 76 cm
Framed size: 98 cm x 78 cm
Edition: 1/15
2023
Framed: R 12,500
Available unframed - R 10, 500
Price if both works taken: R 22 000
Edition 2/15 SOLD

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Theresa Jo
Leaving I
Monoprint on yupo paper
Print size: 54 cm x 76 cm
Framed size: 98 cm x 78 cm
2023
R13 500
Price if both works taken: R 22 000

'9 Emmers'
Monotype prints on phonebook paper
From a series of works that formed part of an exhibition entitled Die Emmer Obsessie, Woordfees March 2019.
The only way Capetonians can survive the drought is by cultivating an obsession with water and to save every drop you need a bucket. A bucket is an object in which you can carry and store water, a centuries-old symbol once again entering our psyche. The artist’s use of buckets is a deep recognition of the work of women who have been carrying water in buckets for years.
Buckets are depicted on the worthless paper of Cape telephone directories – an icon of the past that, just like water, we saw as a self-evident, inexhaustible commodity. The paper with its lists of people and addresses has been raised from the background mounting and placed under glass. The paper that is usually wasted, like water, now enjoys a raised status.
A clay bucket, the inside of which has been glazed, reflects glittering water reminds us that
water is gold!

'Die Emmer Obsessie'
Monoprints on phonebook paper
Framed in kiaat
30 x 36 cm
Paper size: 21.5 x 27 cm
R 3500 each










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'Ek is wil die Ek Wat Ek Is Bly'.
(Antjie Krog)
Etching
Framed
75 x 92cm
R 9500
“I illustrated a poem by Antjie Krog for the Breytenbach Gallery in Wellington. She was the honorary poet of the Festival at the Tuin of Digters. "Ek wil die ek wat ek is bly"...want to retain the I that l am”.
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Water Is Goud
(2022)
Etching on Hahnemuhle paper.
EV 1/10
Framed in kiaat wood.
Water Is Holy
(2022)
Etching on Hahnemuhle paper.
EV 1/10
Framed in kiaat wood.
Oumense Moenie Met Die Water Speel Nie,
die Kinders Moet Dit Drink.
(2022)
Etching on Hahnemuhle paper.
EV 1/10
Framed in kiaat wood.

'Amsterdam'
Etching
1/25
28.5 x 31 cm
Framed
R1850

'Amsterdam'
Etching
1/25
20 cm x 22 cm
Unframed
R 950
Framed
R1850

'Die Pijpe'
Etching
1/25
19.5 cm x 22cm
Unframed
R 950
R1850
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'Ek Is Jy Is'
(Antjie Krog)
Etching
A/P
24 x 18cm
Unframed
R 850
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Immigration
Etching on Fabriano.
Framed.
76 x 93cm
R12 500
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A Sense Of Place
Etching.
Framed.
55 x 49cm
R4500

Adam Small : Die Here het gaskommel en die dice het verkeerd geval vi ons.
Etching.
Edition of 25.
Unframed: 35 cm x 38 cm
R2.200

Adam Small : Die Here het gaskommel en die dice het verkeerd geval vi ons.
Etching print on aluminium.
Framed: 62.5cm x 62.5cm
R6,500
Available unframed:
A recurring theme elaborated upon in my work is my love for the Afrikaans culture , literature and poetry and most definitely the humour.
The Adam Small poem , involved in the Black Consciousness Movement wrote this endearing poem“ Die dice het verkeerd geval vir ons”

My motivation is described by the words of Joseph Campbell in “The Mythic Imagination” - “A profound respect for inherited forms has generally suppressed innovation.”
My work has an emotional connection to the natural environment which surrounds my hometown, as well as socio-political and environmental issues.
The plight of women as preservers ‘women’s work’ as portrayed in”5 to 5” formed part of ‘My Obsessie – Die Emmer’ installation at Woordfees 2019.
5 tot 5 II.
5 tot 5 II.
Mono Etching.
Unframed.
SOLD


5 tot 5 I.
Mono Etching.
Framed.
84cm x 63cm
R5 500
SOLD

Die Emmer Obsessie. 2017.
Monoprint.
74cm x 54cm
Framed: R2 500

Die Emmer-'n Eeue ou simbool wat nou weer in ons psige ontvou.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper.
Framed in kiaat wood:48 x 33cms :R3 200
Unfamed: 40 x 25cms: R2 300
SOLD

Die Emmer-'n Eeue ou simbool wat nou weer in ons psige ontvou.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper.
Framed in kiaat wood: 48 x 33cm: R3200
Unframed 40 x 25cms: R2 300
SOLD

Die Emmer-'n Eeue ou simbool wat nou weer in ons psige ontvou.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper.
Framed in kiaat wood: 48 x 33cms: R3350
Unframed: 2500
SOLD

Example, framed in kiaat wood.

Die Emmer.
Etching on aluminium.
Edition of 5.
40 x 40cms
Unframed.
R3 500
Framed:
R4500.

Die Emmer.
Etching on aluminium.
Edition of 5.
Framed.
50 x 50cms.
R5000

Crime is King. 2017.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper.
Edition of 20.
56cm x 32cm
Available framed in Kiaat R5 500
or unframed R4 450
The omnipresence of crime, loss and constant danger forming part of the fabric of South African society and the realities of its citizens, particularly against women and children, is another theme I draw upon. This inspired the etching ‘Crime is King’

Dodo Days.
Framed Etching
A/P
57.5 X 52cms
R3 200

Tennisles ( The Tennis Lesson)
Monoprint.
Framed.
83 x 73cm
R 10 000

Leucadendron II
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper. .
6/10
82.5 x 65.5 cms
Framed.
R9 500
(sold)

My Kind se Skoene.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper. Edition Variable.
52 x 37cms

My Kind se Skoene.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper 1/10
Framed in Kiaat wood.
62.5 x 46cms
R3 500
SOLD

Hoe Kan Wyn
Etching
55 x 44cms
R2500
SOLD

This Mythical Creature. 2019. (Die Laaste Artvarkie)
Etching. Edition of 20.
Size: 26.5 cm x 26cm
Framed in kiaat wood frame: R3500.
Last edition available. 20/20
SOLD OUT

Die Laaste Mielie. 2020.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper.
32cm x 32cm
Unframed: R1200
Framed in kiaat wood frame: R2 500

Flipside.
Etching on Hahnemuhle museum etching paper.
32cm x 32cm
Unframed: R650
Framed in kiaat wood frame : R2250



Moddermure van Marrakesh.
Etching.
Unframed
R3 500

Fynbos.
Etching and Aluminium print.
33cm x 32.5cm.
Framed
SOLD

Fynbos. 2019.
Etching and photographic print on aluminium.
Edition of 5.
Unframed: 60 x 60cms
R4 500
Framed: 60 x 60cms
R5 500

Fynbos
Etching on aluminium.
Edition of 5
30 x 30cms
R950

Fynbos
Etching on aluminium.
Edition of 5
30 x 30cms
R950

Fynbos
Etching on aluminium.
Edition of 5.
30 x 30cms
R950

Fynbos
Etching on aluminium.
Edition of 5.
30 x 30cms
R950

Wat maak jy in my kop.
Etching Variable.
Printed by Popular demand.
46cm x 41cm.
Available framed
or unframed
Unframed R2975
Framed R4500


Alias Stef Bos.
Etching Edition of 75.
39cm x 33cm.
Printed by Popular demand. Available framed or unframed.
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Wat Maak Jy In My Kop ( Alias Stef Bos)
Etching
Edition of 100
E.V
39cm x 33cm.
Printed by Popular demand. Available framed or unframed.
Unframed R 2450
Framed R 4500


"Stone" drawing number 1.
Monoprint
Being passionate about v Rock art I tried an attempt at it myself. I realised that the San had it easy! They had their canvasses prepared while I first had to create the stone before I could“ draw” on it.
R4500
(SOLD)

Mirage- an unrealistic hope.
Etching
40cm x 55cm Framed: R3500
35cm x 50cm Unframed: R2500
Please enquire regarding the availlabilty of the above prints at artvark@iafrica.com

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