Matthew Arendse

My practice is the pursuit of cutting open the human condition and exploring all the many layers that make up the complex structures of our existence and reality. Pulling back the curtain of the drama of life is what interests and motivates me in my artistic endeavor. In a world governed by online media and artificial personas it becomes increasingly important to understand what it means to be human.

Working primarily in oil on canvas, but constantly exploring other mediums should my ideas require it. Sometimes my work is technical and precise and other times very loose and gestural. I paint what interests me as an artist and use whatever I need in order to make my vision a reality.

My works often emerge out of personal experiences and observations. I believe it is my job as an Artist to reflect on the world around me and to create work that is both personal and universal.

I've always wanted to create art that makes people stop and think "WTF is that?". I just love the unexpected. Which is the complete opposite in my personal life where I am very structured and routine oriented and like to feel in control. I think it's that when an artist creates something that, entraps their audience in an observational trance. They think and feel. What we see is paint applied on a 3-dimensional surface in a particular way, but illicits a response from our souls on a higher plane of existence. Neurons firing, emotions stirring, the mind is engaged, soul touching soul.

Matthew Arendse (b. 1997, Cape Town) is a painter based in Cape Town, South Africa. His work spans painting on canvas, works on paper, and sustained drawing practice.

He completed his BA at Vega, Cape Town (2018). Since 2023 he has maintained an independent studio practice in the industrial area of Diepriver in Cape Town.

His paintings have been exhibited across South Africa and internationally, including at the Youngblood Africa Gallery, Zeitz Mocaa, Grounzero Culture Club and House of Ahren.

Matthew Arendse’s work is held in private collections all over South Africa.

I work slowly. A painting might take weeks, or months — sometimes longer — before I consider it resolved. I reserve the right to return. The studio is where the accumulation of time becomes visible on the surface; each layer carries a record of decisions made and unmade.

I mix my own oil media, favouring linseed and stand oil in varying proportions depending on the season and the effect required.

Drawing is essential and parallel — not preparation for painting, but its own form of inquiry. I carry a sketchbook constantly. The drawings and the paintings speak to each other without being transliterations.

The studio faces south. The quality of light changes through the day and through the seasons; these changes become involuntary collaborators. I am attentive to them.