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.