The artists
Simon lee
Simon Lee was born in 1992, and is an economist and artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Although he experiments across various media (including film photography and music), Simon places his primary creative attention on painting, ink drawing, sculpture, and digital art. His paintings are characterised by delicate textures and layering, and capture a stream of consciousness relating to shapes and colours. His ink drawings are highly intricate and detailed, and similarly depict abstract interlocking shapes and patterns. His sculpture work is focused on kinetic mobiles, again placing an emphasis on bold colours, shapes, and movement. His digital drawings meet in the middle of these practices.
Roxy kaczmarek
Roxy Kaczmarek (1990) is a professional printmaker, painter and educator based in Johannesburg. The artist obtained a BA in Fine art from the University of Cape Town, Michaelis School of Art in 2012 and completed a Masters in
Technology from University of Johannesburg cum laude in 2019. Kaczmarek lectured at the University of Johannesburg in the Printmaking department from 2020 until end of 2022. She is a mother and Master printer at the David Krut
Workshop, she currently lives and works in Johannesburg. Kaczmarek is a committed ecological artist who has consistently examined the intersections between the natural world and manmade environments. The invisible push and pull which causes disruption but also evolution and adaption in these interconnecting landscapes is what drives her inquiry through printmaking and painting. The works are curated into careful colour combinations and specific positioning within domestic spheres in order to decolonise the human relationship with cultivation through her practice as an artist. Whether they are welcomed inside our home or provide a reminder of the beauty and wildness of nature, plants linger in the cultivated spaces as we keep them contained, not allowing them to grow too wild or too dangerous so as to disrupt our sterile interior worlds. Returning to Johannesburg and the eclectic nature of how things grow in the subtropical climate, coupled with the lack of being able to see into people’s homes, my focus has shifted to looking more to how plants are cast and where they land.
BALEKANE LEGOABE
My work explores the relationship between nature, spirituality and identity through the interrogation of personal and collective histories. I am interested in the ways in which the human experience mirrors the processes of nature and vice versa. Seasons, cycles, birth, death, growth, decline, resilience, change, resistance, expansion - all of these phenomena are markers of the human experience and we also see them, in one way or another, affect plants, animals, the elements and the cosmos. I draw visual inspiration from ancient rock art and cave paintings; African, Eastern and Western mythology, as well as language, metaphor, ritual and family. My process is driven by personal interpretations and explorations around African and Eastern healing modalities as well as eclectic philosophical and religious systems.
Elders Studio by Talita Calitz
Talita Calitz is an accomplished oil painter whose work celebrates the beauty of nature and everyday moments. Drawing inspiration from the natural world around her, Talita’s paintings capture landscapes with a deep appreciation of the subtle interplay of light and color.
Talita's artistic journey began at a young age, nurtured in a family of artists where creativity was a way of life. Self-taught with guidance from her artist mother, she continuously hones her craft, striving to discover her unique style and voice.
While oil is her preferred medium, Talita also explores other artistic mediums. Her style leans towards impressionism, though she also enjoys experimenting with abstract forms in some of her pieces.
Residing in a quaint town in the Western Cape, Talita creates her art from her studio, Elders Studio, where she finds inspiration amidst the natural beauty that surrounds her.
Jackie Veldman
I experiment with an array of mediums, exploring the expressive fields of oil pastels, oil paint, acrylics, ceramics and gouache. Gouache has been my current obsession. My creative journey thrives on the interplay of colour, texture and pattern, often drawing inspiration from nature.
Rooted in my upbringing in Botswana, I found solace and stimulation in my mother’s ceramic studio, where I immersed myself in the tactile world of clay whilst creating artworks from my imagination.
The constant inspiration drawn from blossoms and nature infuses my art with vibrancy and fuels my creative endeavours.
JANA WASSERMAN
Wasserman’s work is about the gentle expansion of the self. Evoking internal landscapes by drawing from nature and work based on relationship dynamics. Exploring new spaces with a keen awareness of her own emotional and visceral response to the environment, her practice is characterised by meticulous attention to the ordinary world surrounding her. Constantly seeking distinctive visual cadences in everyday life, she translates these discoveries through her abstract perspective into her artwork. Her aim is not merely to embellish but to acknowledge the inherent beauty found in the ordinary, the mundane, and the intimately personal. In each piece, her goal is to exude a sense of generosity, as she perceives colour as inherently abundant. Aiming to capture a certain sense of effortless harmony with sufficient depth, while being undeniably influenced by her surroundings and inner landscape.
Lerato Ntili
Lerato Ntili (b. 2001) is a South African artist born and raised in Bloemfontein, Free State currently based in Johannesburg. She has recently completed her BA (Honours) in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria.
Ntili's black and white photography utilizes light as her artistic medium. Through this technique, she sculpts light and shadow, crafting a powerful perspective on illumination and structure. By capturing the essence of the self and the subject, Ntili's work transcends the physical to evoke a deeper emotional resonance. Her artistic practice centers on the relationship between the body and object, serving as a portal into vulnerability and storytelling. These elements express themes of healing and self-belief.
She has participated in group exhibitions including Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Top 100, Sasol New Signatures 2021, Creatress Mashumi Art Projects 2022, Turbine Art Fair Unearthed 2022, Future Africa Exhibition 2022, Son of Langa: Identity and community 2022, Undergraduate Exhibition In Passing 2023, Turbine Art Fair Talent 2023 and Everything in and out: Umbhedesho 2023 and Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize Exhibition: Johannesburg Stock Exchange 2024.
Margaurite Roux
b. 1991 (Beaufort West, South Africa)
Lives and works in Cape Town
I was born in 1991 in the Karoo town of Beaufort West. I grew up in Wellington in the Cape Winelands and matriculated from La Rochelle Girls’ High School in Paarl. In 2018 I obtained my MA Visual Arts degree from the University of Stellenbosch, prior to which I completed a BAVA (Fine Arts) degree from the same institution in 2014. In 2014 I was awarded the Keith Dietrich Award for passing my final year with a distinction as well as the Timo Smuts prize for top academic achiever in Fine Arts. I am a three time top 100 finalist in the Sasol New Signatures Award competition.
Since graduating in 2014 I’ve taken part in a number of group exhibitions, including Greatest Hits: The Domestic Oddyssey presented by the AVA Gallery in 2015 and Hinterlands: The Keith Dietrich Award Exhibition at GUS in the same year. Most notably my work has been shown at the 4th Istanbul Design Biennial, in Turkey as part of Emelie Röndahl’s project Google Weaving Stop-Time in 2018 and at the Also Known as Africa (AKAA) Art Fair in Paris, France with Dyman Gallery in 2019.
EDUCATION
Master of Arts in Visual Arts (Cum Laude), Stellenbosch University, 2018
Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts (Fine Arts), Stellenbosch University, 2014
ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS
Top 100 Finalist in the Sasol New Signatures Award Competition, 2017
Top 100 Finalist in the Sasol New Signatures Award Competition, 2015
Awarded the Timo Smuts Award for top academic achiever in Fine Arts, 2014
Awarded the Keith Dietrich Award for completing Fine Arts IV cum laude, 2014
Top 100 Finalist in the Sasol New Signatures Award Competition, 2014
Awarded the Golden Key Award for academic excellence, 2011
Awarded the Redelinghuys Trophy for most promising art student, 2008
Michelle van reenan
Michelle van Reenen is a painter and graphic designer based in Kommetjie, Cape Town. She graduated with a BA degree in Visual Arts from the University of Stellenbosch in 1999. For 16 years, she was co-creative director of Room 13 Design, a graphic design studio in Cape Town, and now oversees its aliated company, Room 13 Collection, alongside her daily painting practice. Michelle's artistic journey took a new turn five years ago, igniting her passion for painting. Her commitment to artistic growth led her to join the 7-month artist support program 'Sessions' in 2021, under the guidance of acclaimed artist and lecturer, Dominique Edwards. This experience solidified her dedication to painting.
Michelle van Reenen’s practice sensitively delves into the complex relationship between the conscious and unconscious selves, ultimately creating space for a harmonious coexistence between the two.
Her vibrant paintings originate from the realm of art therapy, where she relinquishes conscious control over the process and final pieces. Her work draws inspiration from impressions of landscapes and natural environments around her. Some of these landscapes evoke childhood memories from
Michelle's time spent in Golden Gate, Eastern Free State.
She prefers to work on multiple paintings simultaneously, layering paint and expressive brushstrokes without expecting a specific result.. Working intuitively, Michelle brings forth the psyche by giving it form and colour.
Danna Margo
Danna Margo (b.1995) is a South African multidisciplinary artist. She received her BAFA Degree from the University of Pretoria in 2017, specialising in mixed media, sculpture, and installation. Her process is materially driven, exploring the nuances found within wood glue and ink. Margo has exhibited with the
Pretoria Art Museum, culminating in the Exhibition Abolition and the Interchange of Time (2018), as well as taking part in the Turbine Art Fair (2019). In 2018, she was selected as one of Absa L’Atelier’s Top 100, and in 2021, she was invited by Absa Gallery (in collaboration with Strauss & Co) to participate in a sculpture auction to raise funds for the Qhubeka Foundation. In 2022, Margo was accepted into the Turbine Art Fair’s 6-month Unearthed mentorship and professional practice program, culminating in a group exhibition at the Turbine Art Fair that same year. Most recently, she was one of the finalists for the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize(2023) where she exhibited with The Melrose Gallery.
Miro Van Der Vloed
Born in Pretoria in 1998, Miró has spent time between Durban, Pretoria, Cape Town and the Free State. In 2020, they completed a BaFa (with distinction) from Michaelis school of Fine Arts, focusing on printmaking and sculpture. They are currently in the final year of completing a master’s in fine art through the same institution. Van der Vloed explores the dynamics of homemaking, and the intersections between his queerness and religious beliefs. Clay features as a prominent material in their practice, linked to memories of countless hours spent in their mother’s ceramic studio.
Keabetswe SEEMA
Keabetswe Seema, (b. 1999) born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. Seema exploring themes of culture, spirituality, and personal reflection. Her
work explores the politics of the black female body and identity, using various art forms such as monotypes, photography, and mixed media. Seema is currently the 2024 recipient of the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize. Seema has been a part of various group exhibitions including : TAF Paper Exhibition (2023);
University of Pretoria, Group Exhibition (2023); Among The Lilies (2023); Son of Langa presents: Brown Flesh Tales (2023); Turbine Art Fair, Unearthed (2023); Sasol New Signatures (2021); Alter Ego Sculpture Exhibition (2020); First Rand x
Mmarthouse (2019); Emergence and Thou Art Women at Mmarthouse (2018).