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South African artist Gabrielle Kruger has developed an artistic practice that pushes the conventions of traditional painting. She experiments with acrylic paint as a dynamic medium by blurring the boundaries between painting and sculpture.
Kruger has developed a process where the paint mimics the viscosity of glue when wet and the elasticity of rubber when dry. By extruding and drying pieces of paint to assemble the painting, the paint becomes a collaging material. Drawn to the malleability of her chosen medium, the artist pushes and plays with the limits of acrylic paint. In her process of layering, weaving, scraping, cutting, collaging and folding, she allows the paint to develop its own language. Each element becomes a new brushstroke; a new type of mark making, that becomes part of intricate and sculptural compositions that go beyond traditional painting techniques.
Kruger finds inspiration from the natural environment; landscape scenery and the plants in gardens both wild and tamed. The idea of a socially and materially constructed landscape informs her work in both an abstract and figurative way. Through her investigation into the materiality of acrylic paint as a type of plastic, she re-imagines a landscape that transcends the boundaries of simulation and reality, drawing attention to the plasticity of our contemporary world and challenging perceptions of what really comprises the natural environment.
Gabrielle Kruger (b. 1993) lives and works in Cape Town.
(Photographed by Mia Thom, 2024.)
EXTENDED CV
REWARDS + RESIDENCIES
2023
2019
2018
Artist in residence at GlogauAIR
Berlin (Germany)
Artist in residence at Nirox Sculpture Park
Cradle of Humakind, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Certificate of Excellence from the 33rd Chelsea International Fine Art Competition
New York (USA)
EDUCATION
2018
2015
Masters of Fine Art (with distinction)
Michaelis School of Fine Art, The University of Cape Town (South Africa)
Bachelors of Fine Art (cum laude)
Visual Art Department, University of Stellenbosch (South Africa)
SOLO PRESENTATIONS
2024
2023
2022
wind swept paint, EIGEN + ART Lab
Berlin, Germany
Paint Innings, Brundyn Arts + Culture at Boschendal Gallery
Franschhoek, South Africa
Fifty Sounds, a three story exhibition of works by Gabrielle Kruger, Georgina Gratrix and Mongezi Ncaphayi
Gallery Kiche, Seoul, Korea
2020
Wait the Line, Smac Gallery, Cape Town
2019
For Paint to Dry, Smac Gallery,
Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Gucci Garden of Eden; A performance of Wearable Paintings by Gabrielle Kruger
Performed by the Cape Academy of Performing Arts, curated by Elana Brundyn and Louw Kotzé
Norval Foundation, Steenberg (South Africa)
Overgrowth, Marta Moriarty Art Window,
Madrid (Spain)
Performance Painting: An African adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream
in Collaboration with The National School of the Arts and Nirox Foundation, scenography and Costumes by Gabrielle Kruger, direction by Laine Butler and production by The National School of the Arts.
Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg (South Africa)
2018
Garden Smoothie, a collaborative presentation by Marlene Steyn and Gabrielle Kruger, Smac Gallery
Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Artist Highlight: Gabrielle Kruger
Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Ungrounding Landscape; Masters Graduate Exhibition by Gabrielle Kruger
Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town (South Africa)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS & PRESENTATIONS
2023
Monochrome, Brundyn Arts & Culture
Boschendal x Brundyn gallery, Boschendal (South Africa)
GlogauAir Open Studios
GlogauAir, Berlin (Germany)
Mixed Media, Eigen + Art Gallery
Leipzig (Germany)
Chromatic Horizons, Oude Leeskamer
Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Eigen + Art Gallery's Booth Presentation at Investec Cape Town Art Fair 10th Edition 2023
Cape Town Convention Centre, Cape Town (South Africa)
under~water~love pop-up exhibition by Eigen + Art Gallery
Under Projects, Cape Town (South Africa)
2022
Lush, Cavalli Gallery
Somerset West (South Africa)
Inner Landscapes, Bloom Galerie
Geneva (Switzerland)
Kindred, Boschendal Norval Art Gallery
Franschhoek (South Africa)
Gallery Kiche's Booth Presentation at Artbusan
Busan (Korea)
Within the Fold, SMAC Gallery
Johannesburg: Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Smac Gallery's Booth Presentation at Investec Cape Town Art Fair
Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Cape Town (South Africa)
Space and Place Vol 2, Pop-Up Exhibition, curated by Khanya Mashabela
Galerie EIGEN + ART, Buitenkant Street, Cape Town (South Africa)
2021
Unfair Weather, Lychee One
London (UK)
Weekend Special, Cape Town Art Weekend, SMAC Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
Smac Gallery's Booth Presentation at FNB Art Joburg,
Johannesburg (South Africa)
40 UNDER 40, BMW x Whatiftheworld Gallery x Krone Cap Classique
Twee Jongen Gezellen, Tulbach (South Africa)
THE LONG TABLE, SMAC Gallery
Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Space and Place, curated by Khanya Mashabela, Galerie EIGEN + ART
Leipzig (Germany)
Biophylia, Cavalli Gallery
Stellenbosch, (South Africa)
2020
Smac Gallery's Online Booth Presentation, Artissima Art Fair
Turin (Italy)
A Show of Solidarity, SMAC Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
SHAPING THINGS: An exploration of clay and ceramics in contemporary South African art practice, SMAC Gallery
Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Smac Gallery's Booth Presentation, Investec Cape Town Art Fair
Cape Town International Convention Centre (South Africa)
Matereality, Iziko South African National Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
2019
arteBOTANICA, Nirox Foundation
A performance painting performed by students from The National School of The Arts and music by Thubatsi Maloy.
Nirox Sculpture Park, Cradle of Humankind, Johannesburg (South Africa)
The Female Line, SMAC Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
Smac Gallery's Booth Presentation at FNB Art Joburg
Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg (South Africa)
Unresolved Categories, Gallery MOMO
Cape Town (South Africa)
What Do Painters Do All Day, BKHZ Studio
Johannesburg (South Africa)
2018
The 33rd Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, a group exhibition by the collective award winners
Agora Gallery, New York (USA)
Intersection, a group exhibition including works by Gabriel Choto, Gabrielle Kruger and Neo Matloga
Tyburn Gallery, London (United Kingdom)
2017
SS17 Group Exhibtion, Gallery Momo
Cape Town (South Africa)
Lady Bush, Cavalli Gallery
Cavalli Wine and Stud Farm, Somerset West (South Africa)
Between t[here] and then here and there, Michaelis Galleries
Cape Town (South Africa)
Jan van Riebeeck High School Alumni exhibition along with the Frank Kilbourne and Pieter G Colyn historical art collections from the 50s and 70s.
Welgemeend Manor House, Cape Town (South Africa)
Growing Gatherings, an exhibition by Gabrielle Kruger and Kevin Frankental, 99 Loop Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
Naturalis | Neo Exhibition, Neo Venue Space
Bainskloof Pass, Wellington (South Africa)
Growing Matter, Academic Review Exhibition by Gabrielle Kruger, Michaelis School of Fine Art
The University of Cape Town, Cape Town (South Africa)
2016
Kingdom, Cavalli Gallery
Cavalli Stud and Wine Farm, Somerset West (South Africa)
Untitled 3.99, 99 Loop Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
2015
GRADEX 2015, Class of 2015 Graduate Exhibition
Curated by Gabrielle Kruger and Pierre Vermeulen.
The Visual Art Department of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Growing Intrusions, Graduate Exhibition by Gabrielle Kruger
The Visual Art Department of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa).
Intrusion: an Exhibition | Questions of Contamination and Symbiosis, Solo Academic Exhibition by Gabrielle Kruger
The Visual Art Department of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa).
Dreams Amongst Other Things, Salon 91 Gallery
Cape Town (South Africa)
Scape , The Visual Art Department
Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa).
2014
Drive Through Thursday, a public drawing flashmob performance as part of Kunste Donderdag
Curated by Vulindlela Nyoni and Frances Byers
Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Draw Through Thursday, a drawing performance
Curated by Vulindlela Nyoni and Lucy Turpin
The Visual Art Department of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa).
Red Bull Doodle Sessions In Collaboration with Draw Maw
Curated by Gabrielle Kruger and Sune Vosloo
PJ Olivier Art Centre, Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Redbull Studio Sessions
Curated by Pierre Vermeulen.
PJ Olivier Art Centre, Stellenbosch (South Africa)
2013
The Life of an Object
The Visual Art Department of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa).
The Poetics of Space
The Visual Art Department of Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch (South Africa).