Does South African Art Make
You Feel Your Truest Emotions?

South African art plays on all your senses and thrills the soul. It captures the beauty of life and the depth of every exciting moment. It does indeed bring out your most authentic emotions.

Home to the most ancient and wonderful art in the world, artists from South Africa continue to astound and challenge us with a passion for simply being.

With immortal works that arouse a wealth of memory, religious principle and sacred myths, the South African artist evokes the ancient culture in a contemporary setting.

Getting Started

An overview Of South African art history must note that the world's oldest art objects were discovered in a cave and it's believed these 75,000 year old, drilled snail shells were strung as a necklace.

More recently, the cave paintings by the San/Bushman peoples -- 10,000 BC -- provide priceless examples of South Africans' historical, artistic nature.

Towards the end of the 19th century, locally focused art began to take root, homage to the end of colonial era in 1910. The apartheid years of 1948-1994 saw a scattering of South African artists and yet an emergence of diverse styles.

Drawings in various media, linocuts and watercolors emerged with the limited availability of artistic materials. This did nothing to limit the creative force that evolved in the South African art scene.

Your Ad Here

Artistic Inspiration In The Every Day

Primitive art evolved to find an entirely new expression. Though black artists were initially unacknowledged during apartheid, a great diversity of styles from landscapes to abstract art was welcomed into the world.

Gerard Sekoto, from the 30s onward, gave us urban African life in the gritty, tumultuous hotspots of Sophiatown and District Six. George Pemba's naively styled work portrayed poor black people's innate humanity.

South Africa's first art school for blacks was established by John Koenaklefe Mohl. Urbanized blacks in townships on the outskirts of white cities soon began to flourish as they discovered their artistic expression.

In the 80s and 90s linocut practice became a subgenre, thanks chiefly to artists such as: William Zulu, Vuyile Cameron Voyifwa and Cyprian Shilakoe.

Soak Up South African Art

South African art bares the soul of an entire continent. It reflects original expression, sensuality and tenderness deepened with legendary mystical significance. The artist allows the essence of each work to emerge, revealing the beauty of its "dark" origins, all the while casting a palpable spell.

Set yourself free from the boundaries of merely existing. Experience the joy and awe of the creators reveling in the mystery of their ancestry.

I invite you to succumb to the enchantment of the magical journey throughout this site. Simply visit my African art for sale page and get ready to witness awe-inspiring, captivating selections. They'll seduce and astound you!

Return to the south African art history page from
this south African art page.