Google Lionel Smit and the results that pop up are immediate and prolific, very impressive, grand even. Those au fait with A-listers in the world of South African art will know Smit’s work.

Exciting then, that on May 3, Lionel Smit’s latest work comes to the Knysna Fine Art Gallery in an exhibition called Shift.

Lionel Smit is a South African artist, known for his contemporary portraiture executed through large canvases and sculptures. He has lost count of how many exhibitions he has had and his work can be found all over the world including in prestigious private and public collections.

Cover photo of Lionel Smit by Coetzer Cooke

If you walk on Garden Route beaches, you will know that Robberg Beach, Lookout Beach, and for that matter all our beaches, never look the same, not even twice, nor does one beach have the same temperament as another.

The water changes colour constantly; the waves are either peaceful or powerful; currents merge and part, flow and shift, and the sea is in a constant state of flux. It is really quite miraculous.

This phenomenon is one that only a very talented and accomplished artist could hope to capture.

South African master landscape painter, Walter Voigt, has done just that with a new series of oil on canvas paintings focusing on seascapes. Voigt is a full-time artist and until now is best known for his breathtaking landscapes, cityscapes and dramatic cloudscapes.

Voigt will be having an exhibition at Knysna Fine Art, opening on May 3, 2025, called Changing Tides.

At a time when the world is literally in a mess, when we humans are bombarded at every turn with war and sadness, there has never been a better time for an art exhibition that offers an escape into the magic and healing powers of Mother Nature.

Poetry of The Earth is a grand exhibition that opened on March 22 at Knysna Fine Art. Select and important South African artists, who work in different genres and mediums, were given a theme and each one of their art pieces is a unique interpretation of it.

Among the 50 participating artists from all over South Africa are important names like Phillemon Hlungwani, Norman O’Flynn, Jaco Benade, Jaco Schalkwyk, Nhlanhla Nhlapho, Andrew Mogridge, Arabella Caccia and Cobus Haupt. There is painting, sculpture, ceramic, drawing, etching and mixed media – a glorious trove of art – on show at this exhibition.

Cover Image: The Unknown Girl by Jaco Benade, oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm

I can feel the scrunch of sand under my feet, I can smell the mist coming over the sea, it feels like I can reach out and touch the cow lying in all serenity and trust on the beach right in front of me. I am lost for words, as I gaze into this work of art that is profoundly real, visceral even.

Never has the expression a picture paints a thousand words been truer than in the work of celebrated South African photographic artist Daniel Naudé. On February 8, a solo exhibition SEEING IS BELIEVING Glancing Back opened at Knysna Fine Art. It’s an important collection of his most defining photographs spanning the years 2008 to 2019.

Richard John Forbes is an internationally-known multi-disciplinary artist with a central focus on sculpture. This month, from February 8, his work goes on show at Knysna Fine Art in a collaboration with renown sculptor Wilma Cruise. The exhibit is named Scorched Earth – A Conversation.

Forbes is unique in that he has the unique ability to use natural materials from wood to iron to stone and any other discarded matter that spark his curiosity which he then fashions into thought-provoking sculptures from small rose quartz pieces to massive garden and land art. He has also made his mark on the planet as a versatile artist who has pretty much put his hand to the gamut of his profession from restoring buildings, to drawing, print, to film and even making theatre sets.

South African sculptor and visual artist Wilma Cruise is a force to be reckoned with. She turns 80 in February 2025 and is an inspiration, not only through her work which has garnered recognition world-wide, but in the way she lives her life... This month, from February 8, Her work goes on show at Knysna Fine Art in a collaboration with sculptor Richard John Forbes. The exhibit is named Scorched Earth – A Conversation.   

An exhibition of paintings by Weyers du Toit, whose formal compositions and use of colour reflect a deep admiration for the classical painters Rembrandt, Hals, Caravaggio, Goya and Velázquez, runs at the Knysna Fine Art gallery. Called "Into the Gilded Garden" the exhibition will run at the gallery until mid-January.

Lucinda Mudge is an internationally celebrated ceramicist, a world-renown contemporary artist, whose vases, and now paintings, live in bespoke spaces all over the world – and she hails from Knysna.

We are thrilled to have on loan Wim Botha's important work, "Time Machine" (2012) in our gallery for the next few months.

Knysna Fine Art will celebrate a 21-year-long relationship with mixed media artist Hannalie Taute with the opening of a solo exhibition of Ms Taute’s work in March, 2024.

On Saturday the 20th of January the gallery hosted a hugely successful charity auction in aid of KILT. The wonderful Knysna Initiative for Learning and Teaching was established by Gill Marcus, the ex governor of the Reserve Bank, in 1996. Kusum Gained organised the memorable event, with wonderful food by île de païn, flowers by DP Ferreira, and music by Jose Dias.

Knysna Fine Art is proud to showcase one of South Africa’s seminal and most important contemporary artworks. This will be the first of an ongoing series of exhibits from the extraordinary collection of Piet and Amanda Viljoen whose generosity will enable Knysna residents and visitors to experience art hitherto confined to museums.

On the 23rd of November 2023, Knysna Fine Art will be opening a its 25^th Anniversary Exhibition and hosting a huge party to celebrate its birthday – another milestone in “the slow and steady grind and exponential growth” of one of the country’s most beloved art institutions.

Date & time: 14 September 2023 at 18:00

FREE ENTRY – welcome drink on arrival

The Knysna Estuary is probably the most beautiful and certainly the most loved stretch of water in South Africa. Come and celebrate the launch of the book “Knysna Estuary – Jewel of the Garden Route” which is the first (and only) comprehensive view of this superb ecosystem. Written by eminent scientists, it covers the prehistory, botany, zoology & ichthyology, ornithology, and human impact on the estuary and surrounds. 

As part of the Knysna Oyster Festival this year, we are taking part in the Art Walk About from the 3rd to the 8th of July 2023. We look forward to seeing you and having a glass of wine with you.

On the 16th of April Knysna Fine Art will be hosting an evening where two of Cape Town’s leading opera singers will be performing famous arias and duets in a concert arranged by Jose Dias.

A select exhibition of costume and set designs by Peter Cazalet will be on show.

R 500 per ticket

Opera begins: 19:00

Drinks will be served from: 18:00

Contact corlie@finearts.co.za for more information or call us on 0443825107

Knysna Fine Art is proud to present a select exhibition of costume and set designs for opera, ballet, and theatre by Peter Cazalet.

Peter Cazalet, now retired, was for decades one of the most distinguished theatrical designers in South Africa, London, the USA and the Far East.

These exquisite designs, often incorporating swatches of fabric, are decorative in the extreme and must be seen by those with an interest in costume and theatre design; interior designers and art lovers alike.

Tanner John Wilschut is 24 years old and was born when his mom was 29 weeks pregnant and suffered from lack of oxygen which resulted in severe athetoid spastic cerebral palsy. Whilst many challenges he still enjoys his life and have a great sense of humour.

 Paint a Future introduced him to painting and so the journey began. His first painting sold, and he could purchase a house for one of his disabled friends. This was the beginning of a great project for him. Painting gives Tanner a sense of purpose whilst contributing to his community in Plettenberg Bay at the same time.

 Knysna Fine Art is hosting paintings which he completed with Beezy Bailey in the beginning of 2021. These works will be sold in aid of SABRINA LOVE FOUNDATION and TANNER FOUNDATION who both support children with special needs in the greater Plettenberg Bay area.

For the full story go to

https://sabrinalove.co.za

https://www.tanner-foundation.org

Corlie de Kock is a South African artist whose mysterious and striking dark charcoal portraits have found a home in collections in both South Africa and abroad. She views art as a visual language – a form of communication between the viewer and the artwork. For de Kock, the process of creating an artwork is just as important as the final product, for the meaning is produced through experiencing various ideas and emotions as she changes and adds details to the picture along the way. Currently, she is very much interested in visual images as stories and how these stories are interpreted by the viewer, how the psychological state of the viewer impacts their interpretation of the artwork. The child residing within us all and the “becoming child” is an important theme in her work as well as space and landscape, which is interpreted within cultural rather than natural contexts.

Blessing Ngobeni, an award winning thirty-four-year-old South African artist, is one of the country’s most exciting contemporary artists and who is receiving growing international attention. Ngobeni works primarily in mixed media, including paint and collage on canvas, to convey strong and challenging messages regarding the abuse of power, political consequences and socio-economic as well as environmental issues.