Ingrid Altmann

South African artist Ingrid Altmann brings fresh life to forgotten artworks, transforming once-overlooked paintings into contemporary pieces filled with humour, nostalgia, and renewed purpose. After two decades in the PR industry and many years of painting part-time, Altmann felt compelled to pursue a new creative direction — one that aligned with her longstanding passion for recycling, upcycling, and reimagining everyday objects. What emerged is her distinctive body of work titled “This Old Painting,” a series that playfully bridges past and present.

The concept was sparked by an idea encountered online and fuelled by Altmann’s love for the colourful characters of her childhood. Drawing inspiration from Tintin, Asterix, Garfield, the Flintstones, Snoopy and other iconic cartoons, she began sourcing unwanted artworks from second-hand and thrift stores across the Western Cape. Many of these found paintings are distinctly South African, often depicting well-known landscapes, coastlines, veld scenes or historical settings — familiar visual markers that anchor her work in the country’s cultural memory. By inserting hand-painted, comical figures into these recognisable backdrops, Altmann creates a new narrative, a new rhythm, and a completely renewed purpose for each piece.

Altmann’s practice reflects her belief that art is not only for the elite, but for everyone to enjoy. By merging classical or dated South African scenes with universally recognisable characters, she creates works that are accessible, joyful, and deeply human. “After everything the world has gone through,” she notes, “we all need something that makes us smile.”

Coming from a creative family, with both her mother and sister as passionate artists, Altmann first began painting at the age of 21. Although she explored many styles over the years, she only recently discovered her true artistic voice — one that celebrates reinvention, sustainability, and the quiet poetry of the unexpected. For her, upcycling is not merely an artistic choice, but a meaningful response to a materialistic, consumer-driven world. It is an act of preserving beauty, honouring the past, and creating joy from what others have overlooked.

Altmann’s work elicits strong reactions — delight, nostalgia, surprise — inviting viewers to engage with familiar icons in unfamiliar settings. One either loves this type of work or does not, she says, but the invitation is simple: look closely, enjoy the humour, and see these old South African paintings anew.

In Cape Town, Ingrid Altmann is represented by The Artists Gallery.