Schalk van der Merwe’s visceral portraits have a directness about them,yet are underpinned with a tangible fragility. Ambiguous features can morph from immense beauty into utter despair, with hints of the eyes breaking the surface beneath layers
of paint, charcoal, turpentine, expressive brush strokes and often the physical DNA form the artists’s fingertips.
Schalk’s work explores the concept of taking the mind out of the creative process to allow for a more honest expression. His art captures a vast range of emotions and often provokes a strong reaction from the viewer.
“My work is not reliant on a cognitive process. I believe over thinking can destroy originality. My portraits aren’t about realism, perfection, gender or race. They explore and attempt to capture those qualities and emotions often hidden from view.” says
van der Merwe of his work.
Schalk’s work is arresting, intriguing and oddly attractive. Each portrait has a delicate, melancholic expression with a coarse and visceral application of paint. Each face offers some deeply personal recognition of the subject even though the features are blurred to the point of anonymity.
Exhibitions:
2013:
Release, Catherine Christie Fine Art Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Selected works, The Ghuba Gallery, Hout Bay, South Africa
2014:
This Human Condition: A Portrait Study in Primaries, Kim Donaldson Gallery, Franschhoek, South Africa
This Human Condition: A Portrait Study in Primaries & The Guardians, Young Blood Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Selected works, The Ghuba Gallery, Hout Bay, South Africa
Selected works, Gill Alderman Collection, South Africa
Disrupt & Disturb, Young Blood Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2015:
Selected works from the series Visceral, Hout Bay Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Selected works from the series Visceral, African Transformation & The Slow Disintegration of Sanity, Art Eye Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Selected works from series Visceral & Propaganda, Artist's Proof, Washington DC, USA
2016:
Works from series Visceral, This Human Condition: A Portrait Study in Primaries, The Slow Disintegration of Sanity & Propaganda, Absolut Art Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
Selected works from series Visceral & Dearly Beloved, Equus Gallery, Cavalli Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Selected works from the series Visceral and Dearly Beloved, Art Eye Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Selected works from series Visceral & Propaganda, Artist's Proof, Washington DC, USA
Selected works from the series Visceral, Hout Bay Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2017:
Works from seriesVisceral & The Slow Disintegration of Sanity, Absolut Art Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
Selected works from series Visceral & Dearly Beloved, Smudge Contemporary, Clarens, South Africa
Selected works from the series Visceral, Art Eye Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Selected works from series Visceral & Propaganda, Artist's Proof, Washington DC, USA
Selected works, Hout Bay Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Selected works from series Visceral, Rossouw Modern, Hermanus, South Africa
Selected works from series Visceral & Dearly Beloved, Contemporain Gallery, Baton Rouge, USA
2018:
Selected works from the series Visceral,The Slow Disintegration of Sanity & Dearly Beloved, Art Eye Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Selected works, Artist's Proof, Washington DC, USA
Selected works, Hout Bay Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Selected works from series Visceral, Rossouw Modern, Hermanus, South Africa
Selected works, Contemporain Gallery, Baton Rouge, USA
Selected works, The Affordable Art Fair, NYC, USA
Solo Exhibitions:
2013:
This Human Condition: A Portrait Study in Primaries, Bright Creative Space, Cape Town, South Africa
Published & Group shows:
2013 - Group show, New Portraits Collection, Saatchi Online Gallery UK curated by Saatchi Art VP, Rebecca Wilson
2014 - Group show with Kim Donaldson & Llewellyn, Kim Donaldson Gallery, Franschhoek
2014 -Group show, The Artmode Holistic Expression, Young Blood Gallery, Cape Town
2014 -Published, Portraits, Selected works by Schalk van der Merwe,Cape Town
2015 - Group show, 10 Words 20 Artists, Bright Creative Space, Woodstock, Cape Town