Vivien Kohler
Vivien Kohler was born in Cape Town in 1976, and now lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Vivien holds National Diploma in Fine Art from the Ruth Prowse School of Art and Design, Cape Town. In addition he has won the Lovell Gallery Artist Competition, ITWeb-Brainstorm award and received the Thami Mnyele Sculpture Merit Award. In addition, Vivien’s work is housed in both private and public collections throughout South Africa.
Artist Statement
I am fascinated by the ability of the human spirit to transcend ‘the conceptual decay’, and the unique liminality of the South African city.
Circumstances do not define individuals and communities where enormous complexities and layers exist. From badlands, esteemed and adored individuals have bloomed.
I am driven to restructure the residue, to find meaning within the chaos and build on the inherent positivity, optimism and history that emanate and flow from the cracks. These works are an explorative redefining of the identity of people in this place called home.
We are in a perpetual process of change, striving to transcend from deficiency to authenticity. At every stage we discover individuals we call ourselves – growing, changing, continually challenged.
Like the chrysalis, we leave behind traces of who we once were as we change form from the old to the new. My works represent these individuals as singular examples, each vital to whom we are – aspects of shifting personas gleaned over time.
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