 | Riaan van Zyl
Riaan van Zyl, born in 1976, pushes the boundaries of contemporary art by blending classical techniques with innovative concepts. After studying Contemporary Fine Arts at UNISA and earning his bachelor's degree in 2000, he began a professional career marked by numerous group exhibitions and international gallery shows. “The faster we move, the less we see the details. We are missing the basics,” he says. Van Zyl pours a dark, sludgy liquid, old car oil, whose consistency slows time, capturing motion with charcoals and paints on various surfaces. Layered images vibrate with movement, inviting viewers to pause and perceive life in “frames per second.” Inspired by everyday surroundings, he deconstructs ordinary ideas and reimagines their context. Early experiments included oil, captured carbon, anthracite, cobalt salts, and exhaust ink. At first abstract, his work reveals structure, rhythm, and meaning, turning motion into a visual performance. Currently, Van Zyl explores interactivity and kinetic elements, testing new ways to expand contemporary art’s boundaries with unconventional materials. His work is featured internationally and in South Africa, in prestigious collections, with solo exhibitions in Munich (2022) and Pringle Bay (2025), and at The Artists Gallery in Cape Town. |
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