Lionel Smit

Lionel Smit was born in 1982 in Pretoria, South Africa. Smit has had several solo exhibitions. He has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London, receiving the  Visitors' Choice - BP Portrait Award in 2013. His work can be found in many collections, such as the Standard Chartered Bank and Laurence Graff Art Collection. A painting of Smit has been featured on the cover of Christie’s Auction Catalogue.

Smit is one of South Africa’s most prolific and exalted artists. His artistic diversity is pursued through various mediums, and he is best known for his contemporary portraiture. His art is defined by a deeply rooted symbiotic relationship between sculpture and painting. Today, each of Smit’s works offers us an entry point into the variety and richness beneath every face we encounter, whether applied in bronze or paint. The blending of techniques across genres displays Smit’s work in multiple media, all with visible and tangible overlap.