Jacques Viljoen is a contemporary realist painter, working exclusively from life in oil, without the use of photography. He is best known for his atmospheric plein air landscape paintings in and around The Western Cape, but also creates still life and figurative work.
Viljoen was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1988 and graduated from The Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town in 2011, where he majored in painting, before moving to the UK in 2012. In 2018 he completed two years full time study painting and drawing at The Florence Academy of Art before moving back to South Africa due to the Global Pandemic.
In 2022 Viljoen became the first person since the 90’s to be awarded the title of Artist in Residence at the IZIKO National Gallery in Cape Town, where he is working for a year and where he is going to host his exhibition later this year.
He has held a number of solo shows in Cape Town and exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in London.
In 2019 Jacques Viljoen received in 2019 the Best Cast Drawing, Florence Academy of Art Award and in 2017 the SAA Artist of the Year, best figure or portrait (UK) Award.
The Artists Gallery in Cape Town is currently showing some great works and Viljoen delivered and chose hanging himself. The gallery ships worldwide and can arrange personal meetings with the artist in Cape Town. The prices of the works start from R8,500 excl. VAT, the sizes range from 30cm x 40cm to 50cm x 60cm and nice to remind us that the size is restricted by how much surface area this artist can cover in one sitting under changing light. Really something to remember when we look at art but the life and career of a plein air artist is so worth to support and present.
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Richard Maponya studied to be a teacher but couldn\’t find work, so he became a stock taker at a clothing manufacturer. His manager sold him soiled clothing and offcuts, which he resold. He made enough capital to open a clothing retailer. In the early 1950\’s Maponya and his wife established the Dube Hygienic Dairy, which delivered milk to customers daily. By the 1970\’s his clothing empire had grown enough for him to branch into other areas, including: general stores, car dealerships and filling stations. In 2007, Maponya Mall in Soweto was opened, one of the largest shopping centres in the country. He continued to focus on Soweto\’s growth by establishing Maponya Motor City, which included a Volkswagen and Toyota dealership.