Adele Van Heerden

Adele van Heerden (b. 1989) is a painter living and working in Cape Town, South Africa. Van Heerden’s practice, characterised by her use of pastel, pencil and gouache on drafting film, is informed by the experience of a particular site or place. Her recent body of work, ‘Mirror’ was dedicated to the careful observation and study of surface, light, reflection and fluidity.

Van Heerden graduated with a diploma in Fine Art from Ruth Prowse School of Art (2010), a BA in History, Politics and Art History from the University of South Africa (2014), and an Honours in Curatorship from the University of Cape Town (2015). Solo exhibitions include Mirror (2024), Oceanic (2023) and Inside/Outside (2021) at 131 A Gallery (Cape Town), Field Trip at David Krut Projects (Johannesburg, 2022), The Secret Life of Plants at Rust en Vrede (Cape Town, 2022), Infinite Detail at Lizamore & Associates (Johannesburg, 2021) and In Memoriam at AVA Gallery (Cape Town, 2018). Van Heerden's work has been included in group exhibitions at Gallery MOMO (Cape Town), 131 A Gallery (Cape Town), Academie Galerie (Munich), David Krut Projects (Johannesburg), Reshape 22: Future Art Histories (Latitudes Online), The UNESCO Centre (Paris), Lizamore & Associates (Johannesburg), Salon 91 (Cape Town), Gallery 2 (Johannesburg) and 99 Loop Gallery (Cape Town).

Her work has also been shown at the Cape Town Art Fair (2022), Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg (2018, 2019) and notable exhibitions at the Woordfees Arts Festival, Stellenbosch (2019 & 2023) and the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, Oudtshoorn (2020). Van Heerden has completed residencies at Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2020, 2023), Cape Town Art Residency (2024) and David Krut Projects (2021) Van Heerden has served as a member of the board of the Arts Association of Bellville, Cape Town (2018–2019) and the Friends of the Iziko South African National Gallery (2019–2024).

Artist Statement:

Adele is interested in the relationships between built, human-made and natural environments, design and art, as well as abstraction and figuration. Her goal is to capture a moment, give shape to the experience and connect with the feeling of a place. Adele's work, predominantly centred around urban, natural landscapes, waterscapes and interior spaces has recently expanded into a visual exploration of the interplay between water and light. Water is a substance that affects light, refracting and reflecting it. As a swimmer, Adele is drawn to municipal pools and coastal shorelines, using her body, sketchbook, and camera to observe and engage. There is an autobiographical component to my practice, a sort of abstracted narration she explores through translating this experience. Painting water started when she was diagnosed with a hip condition that demanded surgery and a lot of rehabilitation. Swimming is an embodied experience for me, where the body serves as a sensory apparatus through which revelations are made.