COLLECTING INSIGHT

Painting, an age-old traditional medium, remains profoundly significant for artists and collectors alike. Despite the surge in new media and digital art in recent times, painting endures as a powerful form of artistic expression that continues to captivate creators and audiences.

Aspire Art’s current Painting Online Auction celebrates the medium by showcasing a selection of South African modern masters including Gregoire Boonzaier, Nel Erasmus, Christo Coetzee and Trevor Coleman, alongside a formidable group of contemporary and young painters who are developing new techniques and taking lessons from those who came before them to present the world with visually compelling and conceptually bold paintings. 

Here are five stand-out contemporary and young painters to watch and collect as they make their mark by exploring and experimenting with this timeless medium, while pushing the boundaries of traditional techniques and themes. They address a wide range of subjects, from current social and political issues to personal narratives and abstract concepts. By incorporating diverse materials, innovative styles, and interdisciplinary approaches, these artists keep painting fresh and engaging, confirming its lasting relevance in the ever-evolving art world.

Erin Chaplin

Left: Portrait of the artist . Courtesy of Otomys.

Right: Lot 32: Erin Chaplin, Gargle | Estimate: R 18000 - 24 000

Erin Chaplin draws inspiration from her personal surroundings to create works that reflect her inner world. In her paintings, she uses impasto surfaces as a metaphor to express human innocence and vulnerability. Since 2019, Chaplin has held solo exhibitions and participated in group presentations in South Africa and the United Kingdom. She is currently represented by Otomys, a contemporary art gallery based in Melbourne, Australia, alongside a substantial list of international artists.

Mummy Khumalo

Left: Portrait of the artist with her artworks. Courtesy of Asisebenze Art Atelier

Right: Lot 35: Madikotsi Mummy Khumalo, Circles of Gold, 2023  | Estimate: R 8 000 - 12 000

Although Johannesburg-based multimedia artist Mummy Khumalo is relatively new to the art scene, her stylistically unique and colourful paintings are powerfully enticing – leaving viewers in awe and making her stand out among a younger generation of painters. The artist’s eccentric acrylic on canvas works delve into concepts surrounding social issues that intersect with gender, culture, tradition, religion and equality, and how this in turn, is influenced by the life cycles within the world and in the spiritual realm.

Khumalo is currently extending her artistic practice by studying animation. Since 2019, the artist has shown work in notable group exhibitions and art fairs culminating in her debut solo exhibition Learning About Ourselves - Back To Water at Kalashnikov Gallery in Johannesburg in 2023.

Lwando Dlamini

Left: Portrait of the artist with his artwork. Courtesy of Wanted Online magazine.

Right: Lot 37: Lwando Dlamini, Lwandile Dlamini, 2020  | Estimate: R 25 000 - 35 000

Lwando Dlamini’s paintings push the conventions of traditional oil painting by creating thick, impasto textures in bold colours, exaggerating and distorting bodily features, incorporating unconventional assemblage elements and sometimes cutting into the canvas itself. Conceptually, he works with memory loss, the fragility of the body, black joy imagery on social media and the vision of liberated black bodies.

The artist is no stranger to awards and accolades. He graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art from the Ruth Prowse School of Art in Cape Town and was awarded the prestigious David Koloane award from the Bag Factory Artist Studios in 2018. Dlamini was also a finalist at the Absa L'Atelier Art competition in 2019 and was among the young emerging visual artists selected to be part of the RMB Talent Unlocked programme at the 2019 Turbine Art Fair. In 2020, Dlamini held his first solo exhibition in Cape Town. Adequately titled Triumph, it was sold out which led to another solo exhibition in 2022. The artist initiated the Lwando Dlamini Art Prize, which raises money to support art students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Alexandra Karakashian

Left: Portrait of the artist with her artwork. Image courtesy Gnyp Gallery.

Right: Lot 49: Alexandra Karakashian, Fracture, 2016  | Estimate: R 30 000 - 40 000

A rising star, the artist boasts a long list of international solo exhibitions since 2016 in Cape Town, Madrid, Gagliano del Capo, Berlin and Seattle. Her compelling paintings have also been featured at numerous international art fairs including ARCOlisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, Art Düsseldorf in Germany, Artissima in Turin, Italy and viennacontemporary in Vienna, Austria.

Currently represented by Sabrina Amrani in Spain and Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in the USA, the artist’s works form part of the FAS Collection, Portugal; The Royal Portfolio Collection, Cape Town; Capo d’Arte Collection, Gagliano del Capo, Italy; Luciano Benetton Collection, Treviso, Italy; Spier Art Collection, Cape Town; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Knights Bridge International, Los Angeles and many more.

Mia Chaplin

Left: Portrait of the artist. Courtesy of Jonathan Knope.

Right: Lot 28: Mia Chaplin, Evening landscape, 2011 | Estimate: R 18000 - 24 000

Cape Town-based artist Mia Chaplin uses the medium of painting and sculpture to create expressive artworks known for their lush impasto surfaces and striking brushstrokes. Thematically, her work delves into women’s experiences of intimacy, sexuality, sensuality and violence.

Chaplin has been establishing her presence since 2016 both locally and abroad with solo exhibitions in Cape Town and Amsterdam and exhibited at Art Brussels in Belgium, Artissima in Turin, Italy and Miart in Milan, Italy. In 2023 Chaplin won the Fountainhead Residency Artist prize during her stay at the Fountainhead Residency in Miami.

View Paintings on Aspire's Painting Online Auction

Painting

1 - 13 August 2024

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Cape Town: +27 21 422 5100 | amy@aspireart.net

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