Youth Hall
Dutch Reformed Church, Piet Retief Street
Exhibiting Artists
Alexander Laurean
Born in South Africa, Alexander attended the Pretoria based National School of Arts, Pro Arte Alphen Park, where he specialised in Drama and Theatrical design.
He completed a BA(DRAMA)(HONS) degree at the University of Pretoria. Here he Directed, Wrote and Designed a number of productions including two that went to the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. “Comfortably Numb” – 2004 and “The Boys in the Backroom” – 2008.
After graduating he apprenticed under South African artist Susan Smuts for a number of years culminating in a number of group exhibitions. In 2008 he left South Africa to tour Asia.
His work is mainly done in oil colours, but he explores with many other mediums. Works tend to be of dream states and the subconscious, there is a strong theme of magical realism in the work.
His Art works have been exhibited, in South Korea, China, at the University of Pretoria, The Mind’s I Art Gallery, The Tina Skukan Art Gallery, The Christo Coetzee Art Museum, The Moneir Gallery Pringle Bay and The Breytenbach Gallery.
Erik van Dyk
Like so many others, I spent the COVID-19 lockdown at home, which is at the foot Paarl famous granite mountain. In an attempt to fight extreme boredom, I began chiseling a fireplace out of the granite rock in my garden. Once that project was complete, I turned to YouTube tutorials to learn how to paint with a palette knife and discovered that I thoroughly enjoyed it. With some encouragement from colleagues, I kept at it, and today I think I might just be an artistic attorney. As I travel through South Africa, I take photos of landscapes and farmsteads, using only my own images as references for my paintings.
Frederick Bezuidenhout
I spent my adult life mainly on the production side of the film industry, always trying to find creative solutions to challenges. During lockdown I started exploring my creativity with some painting but especially scilpture. I use whatever I can lay my hands on, then attempt to reveal what is captured inside. Wood has a certain patience to it and helps in meditation as the final product is slowly revealed with painstaking sanding by hand.
Jacqui Verloren van Themaat
As a Naturalist, Interpretive Guide, Drama Therapist, and Artist
I use the creative arts and our natural environment to educate and connect with children, their families and teachers. Connection to our natural world is key to inspire people to be better stewards and protect and conserve the world that we rely on for physical and emotional survival. I am also a UC Climate Steward, Xerces Society Ambassador, and a Pollinator Steward with the Pollinator Partnership. I have a passion for community science projects, especially in the field of pollinators and habitat restoration. I create conservation art to share the stories of different animals, their habitats and how we can protect these endangered species for future generations.
Jan Wolmarans
Painting, showing & selling since 2002.
Kim Slater
Kim has had a lifelong love of art and design, and with her instinctive love of Mother Nature she focuses on expressing and translating the colours, textures and forms of the fauna and flora she explores when walking or free diving in her environment.
Kim is passionate about photography and uses her own images from land or ocean explorations as reference for her artworks. Kim’s art is created in a variety of different mediums including watercolour, inks, acrylic and oil painting, as well as various printing methods including cyanotype, gel plate printing and linocut.
Neels Venter
Neels is an artist from the small town of Tulbagh in the Western Cape. His art is a unique blend of contemporary and traditional elements. His work often features figurative subjects, including nudes and portraits, executed in a range of mediums including oil on canvas and pastels. Venter’s style is characterized by vibrant colours and expressive brush strokes which lend a sense of energy and movement to his compositions. His use of colour is often bold and emotive, adding depth and complexity to his work. In terms of specific themes, he often explores spiritual and emotional concepts, inviting the viewer to contemplate and reflect on their own experiences and emotions. |
Rochelle Beresford
I am a multimedia Artist that lives and works in Gouda, Western Cape.
My recent works are concertina art with watercolour and black ink.
The other project is pastel on canvas.
Susan Smuts
Susan was born in Johannesburg. She matriculated in Durban with distinctions in English, Afrikaans, and Art. She studied for a BA in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria and then embarked on a two-year journey through Europe.
Highlights include working with sketch groups at Rubens’ house in Antwerp, the gardens at Versailles, and El Greco’s house in Toledo. Back in South Africa, she worked at various advertising agencies, newspapers, and theatres, the latter as a poster and set designer.
Her first solo exhibition was in 1994 at the Art Association, Mackie Street, Pretoria. This was followed by 24 solo exhibitions at galleries such as the Pretoria Art Museum, African Window, State Theatre Gallery, and Tina Skukan.
In between, as a single mother of two children, she made ends meet by illustrating books for 20 years for publishers such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Pearson. After her children emigrated, she settled in Tulbagh, Western Cape. Together with a handful of other artists, they established the Tulbagh Arts Festival and successfully ran it for nine years. She hopes to continue practicing this wonderful profession forever.
Willie Havenga
Educational consultant, Artist, Motivational speaker and Spiritual leader. I was a teacher and school manager for most of my life and people are my field of interest.
Oil on canvas and pencil sketches are my favourite mediums. I prefer to paint nature, animals and ocean as themes.
Abstract is a new genre to me but it is good to move out of ones comfort zone.
I have been drawing and painting for most of my life but have spent more time on my artwork the past few years. To be creative is a God given gift and it is therapy for body, soul and spirit.
I have created my own style and use bright colors.
