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.
Itumeleng Mtshali
Getrude Itumeleng Mtshali is a South African artist from Thabazimbi, Limpopo currently studying Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Mtshali's work is deeply personal, drawing inspiration from her upbringing, the environment she was raised in, and the people who shaped her. Each piece serves as a reflection of her biography, telling stories rooted in lived experiences.
Mtsali's latest series of self portraits , you are essentially looking through her lens of the world. Having attended a primarily white/Afrikaans school, the 11 years she was a pupil, Mtshali wished, dreamt, and prayed about having the things that the white children had. What’s she seeks to highlight is that these items were not necessarily hard to get but because she was a black English child, they were not accessible to her.
TYRA NAIDOO
Tyra Michaela Naidoo (b. 1995, Kwa-Zulu Natal) is a multidisciplinary artist in her second year of the Master of Fine Art program at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. After completing her undergraduate and honors degrees at the same institution in 2017, she has established a practice that explores cultural identity, displacement, and materiality through various mediums.
Central to her work is the innovative use of henna beyond its traditional application, employing it as both metaphorical mask and medium in paintings, performances, and sculptures. This exploration of cultural materials has led to exhibitions including "Fever Returns" (2022, Kalashnikovv Gallery), "Ten of Cups" (2023), and her solo exhibition "Enough Protection" (2023, Kalashnikovv Gallery). Her work has also been featured in significant shows such as "Not Your Normal" (2018) and "Edge of a Thread" (2018) at the Eclectica Galleries.
Throughout her career, she has maintained a commitment to broader experimental practices alongside addressing these themes of cultural and gendered identity. Her work consistently demonstrates an ability to adapt to various exhibition contexts, as seen in shows like "Toolbox" (2023) and "Horse Paintings" (2023) at Under Projects. She has also taken on curatorial roles, organizing exhibitions such as "Living Space" (2022) at AVA, showcasing her versatility within the art world.
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.
Gabriele Jacobs
Gabriele Jacobs was born in 1997 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up in Midrand. Between 2016 and 2022 they studied at the University of Cape Town, completing an MFA from Michaelis school of fine art. Their work predominantly makes use of animal imagery to discuss contemporary concerns- both environmental and societal. Jacobs explores examples from nature which contradict the heteronormative lens through which contemporary society has been framed by western hegemony. The use of animal subjects to discuss queer identity posits a non-heterosexual lifestyle as a part of nature, rather than an anomaly.
In 2020 Gabriele was featured in the Investec Cape town art fair, as part of a presentation by Tatjana Pieters gallery. In 2021, two sculptural pieces of his were included in the New Breed Art competition exhibition at the Oliewenhuis art museum in Bloemfontein, for which they received 2nd place in the competition. In 2023 they were an artist in residence at the Nirox foundation.
Through their sculptural pieces, Jacobs aims to celebrate and honour the act of self-acceptance and queer love.
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).