Henk Serfontein
Henk Serfontein is an award-winning artist who came to prominence with his hyperreal paintings of nightscapes, featuring the marginal, transitory spaces of South Africa.
Throughout the past decade, Serfontein’s abstracts explored similar themes and psychological spaces, questioning the space between European tradition and adventurous, unrestrained African aesthetic as he excavates his own identity: not quite African, not quite European. A deep, enduring attachment to the landscape pervades as an intersection of identity, culture and history.
Serfontein’s recent Maputo Abstracts series relies heavily on confrontative colour as invoked by the ubiquitous capulanas (popular wax-printed cloths). His geometric compositions echo the art deco lines of the Mozambican city’s buildings and ceramics.
Serfontein drew on his design sensibility in the creation of the 10m2 mosaic commissioned for Nando’s Soho, produced in collaboration with Spier Arts Academy. Inspired by Matisse, Serfontein created this composition by cutting out replicas of his own existing artworks and rearranging them within highly irregular dimensions in a format reminiscent of landscape. Intrinsic to the concept is the relevance of the mosaic materials: included is stone endemic to South Africa, thus literally bringing the landscape to European soil, hence materialising the act of cultural export and intersection.
Henk Serfontein holds a degree in Fine Art (cum laude) from the Tshwane University of Technology (1997) and studied at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, France (1997-1999). He has lectured art at tertiary level, adjudicated national art competitions and is an accomplished curator of exhibitions.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2020
A Walking Shadow, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa
2019
Winter Collection, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa
2018
Spring Exhibition, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa
2011
Urban Tension, Solo Exhibition, Galeria Alex Telese, Barcelona, Spain.
2009
Travelling the Margins, Solo Exhibition, Ilse French Fine Art Consultancy, Johannesburg
2002
Memorabilia, Solo Exhibition, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
1997
Labyrinthe de mémoire et mythe, Solo Exhibition, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
1996
Labyrinth of Remains, Solo Exhibition, Karen McKerron Art Gallery, Johannesburg
1995
Henk Serfontein: Winner of The Reginald Turvey Painting Competition, Karen McKerron Art Gallery, Johannesburg
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
ABSA Banking Group, GENCOR, SASOL, Rand Merchant Bank, Pretoria Art Museum, Tswane University, British American Tobacco, Webber Wentzel, SPIER, Nando's United Kingdom. Private collections in South Africa, London, New York, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo, Ireland, Amsterdam and Paris.
AWARDS:
2011
Official invited resident artist at the Piramidon Centre of Contemporary Art, Barcelona Spain.
2010
Finalist in the International Guasch Coranty Painting Award, Barcelona, Spain.
1996
Official representative of South Africa at the Sixth International Cairo Biennale, Egypt with fellow artists Trevor Makhoba, Keith Dietrich and Gordon Froud.
1995
Winner of the SASOL New Signatures Art Competition.
1994
Merit Award, ABSA Atelier Art Competition. Winner of The Reginald Turvey Painting Competition.
1992
Winner of the Dr. I.F. Anderson award for most outstanding final year student, Tswane University.
Presented with Silver Rectors Medal for outstanding academic achievement, Tswane University.
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