By Frederick Philander REHOBOTH RURAL-BASED artist Andrew van Wyk has once again been invited to Germany to stage a solo visual art exhibition in July this year, his second invitation in the last thirteen years. Van Wyk, the director of the Rehoboth School of Arts, is presently heavily engaged in preparing for the exhibition in July made possible by the German Volksbank in the city of Trossingen. “It was a very successful month-long exhibition then in Germany in 1994 for a under the theme ‘Images of Africa’. The works sold then raised more than N$100 000 of which I gave away ten percent to the Namibian Trust Fund on my return home. This time around the thirty works I am in the process of finalizing will be exhibited as ‘African Impressions’. I hope I will do as well as in 1994, even better,” artist Andrew van Wyk said in an Art/Life interview this week. In Germany the five-week exhibition, depicting primarily rural traditional life, will be staged in two cities for greater artistic impact. “Most of the oil paintings reflect on life on our family farm some 30 km outside Rehoboth. It is basically a collection of works produced over the past eleven years. In view of the fact that I suspect my works are quite in demand in Germany, I intend auctioning two of my best works whilst in Germany. It will test and challenge the German art market and it will inspire me further,” said Van Wyk, who is of the opinion that the Germans are keen buyers of African art. Van Wyk also intends visiting London and Paris during the planned trip to Germany. “You know it is important for me to make a study of British galleries and museums because that is where I intend ultimately exhibit my works in the future. As an accomplished musician, too, I also plan to cut a CD in Paris where my youngest sister stays. The French are very good at this sort of thing,” he said. He recounted that during his 1994 art visit to Germany some of his works were bought and are today exhibited in the vaults of the German bank with world renown Spanish artist, Picasso, a real honour. “I have once again accepted the German bank’s invitation to exhibit in Germany because under the many existing bilateral agreements of our government with their European counterparts do in practice not work, at least not for individual Namibian artists. I still need to see the day the Namibian government sending a troupe of fifteen Namibian visual artists to go and represent our country abroad, my hope and dream since after Independence,” a rather disappointed Van Wyk concluded.