For this exhibition I utilised two disparate approaches to producing art. One approach was a more personal one and resulted in drawings, paintings and prints that conform to more traditional notions. The other approach was a non-personal one and was a more Warholian concept where I used painted surfaces with photographic silk-screening. The subject matter ranged from 50’s movie stars to current S.A. sport stars that have reached iconographic status. The resulting works are sleek and contain a certain cosmetic glamour that fits in with current consumerism.

'The Double Bill' by Nuno da Cruz and Francois Gouws
By Kathryn Smith

"Oh my God, it's New York in Rosebank" was my first thought as I entered Nuno Da Cruz and Francois Gouws' ad hoc gallery in the Firs Shopping Centre. Campari branding announced the entrance and beautiful hipsters were sprinkled about.

Scanning the area to find the infamous da Cruz, I noticed more than a couple of 'sold' stickers. Walking closer to do a quick mental tally, I was pleasantly surprised. These guys were making a small packet here, and within a mere half an hour of the space being opened. Da Cruz is a full time artist and operates out of a flat in Killarney. His work has a definite Warholian feel, spiced up with a bit of local beefcake (Mmm, Nice Chicken was a favourite), chocolate wrappers and cocktails. No conceptual navel-gazing here. Rather, it's arresting, seductive and it looks great above the sofa.

With an apparent fetish for sport and those who play it, puritans are likely to call Francois Gouws the poor man's Peet Pienaar, but this would be unfair. Hot acid-pastel portraits of Bobby Skinstad beam from the walls while James Small, in silk-screened action replay, scores try after try. Gouws has the wily gall to juxtapose Greek athletes with our Bobby and vintage dead movie stars in L'Apres-Midi des Ephebes.

As I turned to leave, friends, fans and hangers-on hustled to get Nun da Cruz's attention. Luminous in the reflected glow from the bright walls, everyone was exquisitely self-aware. With a name like Nuno da Cruz, what else can you be but gorgeous?

Sunday Times (Sunday 5 December 1999)

POP-art icon Andy Warhol must have had more than a little influence on a joint exhibition by Francois Gouws and Nuno da Cruz, entitled The Double Bill, that opened in Rosebank yesterday.

Using silkscreen on paper, acrylic on canvass and a host of other fascinating materials, Da Cruz and Gouws are pop artists whose work has a distinctively South African character.

Gouws does interesting portraits of sports heroes (not unlike Warhol’s series on Marilyn Monroe) and Da Cruz’s interest lie in everyday people and products packaging with a strong comic-book influence.

See their work at Shop 28 in The Firs, Rosebank. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 10:30am to 4pm, and Saturday from 10am to 1pm.