Proposal:
I am fascinated by the landscape around me. I see my abstract works as landscapes, as a layered experience – the viewer both feels as if they are simultaneously submerged in and are emerging from a series of marks made. Not only are my abstract works an experience of tactile marks, strokes, shapes and texture, they are also a play in colour relations. I see each work as a song of sorts to colour and mark making, an experiment in what the two can do together and for each other. Each artwork is in essence both a battle and a harmony of shapes and colour. These works don’t really refer to a set point in a landscape, rather, they are more an experience of a landscape. They are an attempt to make sense of the world around me-an emotional landscape if you will. They present themselves as an obsession-both resolved and irresolvable-with the artwork functioning as an almost finished gesture captured on primed paper.
Biography:
My journey as a creative started out by studying advertising, I completed a diploma in Visual Communications (with specialisation in Graphic Design) at AAA School of advertising in 2004. I soon realized (after visiting the vibrant arts scene in London in 2005) that I am more inclined toward the arts. I completed my BA Fine Arts at Stellenbosch University at the end of 2008. Once I completed the aforementioned degree I decided to pursue teaching as a career choice. I first visited South Korea in August 2009-August 2010 and then afterward completed a PGCE at Stellenbosch University in 2011. I was lucky in that I was able to become a full time art teacher, something which has developed me as an individual and as a creative. I have been teaching primary school learners for 9 years now and I find the work to be incredibly rewarding and stimulating. I have still closely pursued my own artistic practice though and I make sure that I get to paint (at least for an hour) every night. I have reached a point now where I have developed quite a substantial body of work and I would like to share my creativity with the world around me.
Web site: https://www.theodorvandermerweart.com/
WORKS:
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Artist: Theodor van der Merwe Title: A Crowd of Jelly Tots, 2021 Medium: Oil paint on primed paper Size: H:640 W:460 D:1 Edition:0 Price:R5000 |
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Artist: Theodor van der Merwe Title: “Fruit loops in a pond”, 2021 Medium: Oil paint on primed paper Size: H:650 W:440 D:1 Edition:0 Price:R5000 |
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Artist: Theodor van der Merwe Title: “Circles in Pink”, 2021 Medium: Oil on primed paper Size: H:650 W:440 D:1 Edition:0 Price:R5000 |
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Artist: Theodor van der Merwe Title: “Scratchy Writing”, 2020 Medium: Oil on primed paper Size: H:650 W:440 D:1 Edition:0 Price:R5000 |