SHANY VAN DEN BERG
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, Re-form I
Paper collage and oil on board, 90 x 60 cm
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, A Short Myth
pencil and gum arabic on vintage paper, 38 x 28 cm
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, A Short Fable
pencil, ink, watercolour and collage on vintage paper, 38 x 28 cm
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, Kaai'mans
wooden plinth, glass, steel, impasto oil paint and engraving on 1920's wooden hat stand, 68 x 35 x 25 cm
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, Dag 31 Augustus 2017
Mixed media on reverse side of vintage map, 26 x 17 cm
Shany van den Berg’s practice centres on contemporary portraiture and figurative work, with an underlying theme of womanhood. Her ethereal oil paintings evoke the mood and texture of Old Master paintings, conveying complex emotions and ideas through meticulous attention to detail, an extraordinary facility with paint and subtle symbolism. Van den Berg’s portraiture is most often of women, whose features morph into a composite of the artist and her loved ones, serving as portals to narratives of sacrifice, struggle and ultimately transcendence.
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, Flowers
oil on French linen, 45 x 50 cm
Shany van den Berg is renowned for her technical acumen, subtle symbolism and agility in shifting between portraiture, figurative, abstraction and sculptural work. Van den Berg’s ethereal oil paintings evoke the mood and texture of Old Master paintings, conveying complex emotions, moods and ideas through meticulous attention to detail, an extraordinary facility with paint and subtle symbolism. A sense of layering pervades her works, in the imagery itself and through Van den Berg’s painterly process. Surfaces are built up of swathes, not painted onto the board but rather, absorbed into it. She explores contemporary themes of womanhood, identity, family, the natural world and connectedness to Mother Earth.
SHANY VAN DEN BERG, Intertwined II
Oil on canvas, 100 x 135 cm
Shany van den Berg’s practice centres on contemporary portraiture and figurative work. Her inspirations stems from her life as a woman, mother of four children and a
professional artist.
Renowned for her technical acumen, subtle symbolism and agility in shifting between portraiture, figurative, abstraction and sculptural work, she explores the critical contemporary themes of womanhood, identity, family, and connectedness to Mother Earth. Van den Berg’s portraiture is most often of women, whose features morph into a composite of the artist and her loved ones, serving as portals to narratives of sacrifice, struggle and ultimately transcendence. The references are delicate and ambiguous.
Van den Berg has worked as a full-time artist for almost thirty years. She is a threetime finalist in the BP National Portrait Award in the UK (now the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award), as well as a threetime finalist in the South African Sanlam Portrait Award. Her practice includes painting on board, linen and found objects, drawing, sculpture, site specific installations, mixed media, three-dimensional work as well as poetry and music.
Shany van den Berg’s practice centres on contemporary portraiture and figurative work, with an underlying theme of womanhood. Her ethereal oil paintings evoke the mood and texture of Old Master paintings, conveying complex emotions and ideas through meticulous attention to detail, an extraordinary facility with paint and subtle symbolism. Van den Berg’s portraiture is most often of women, whose features morph into a composite of the artist and her loved ones, serving as portals to narratives of sacrifice, struggle and ultimately transcendence.
Specialists in contemporary art from South Africa. Established in 1913. South African artists are part of the global conversation. We seek to make their voices heard.