SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2023, ROCK, BOULDER, SOLID, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2022, ESCAPE ISLAND RIGHT NOW!, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2021, WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2021,HAPPY TO SEE YOU, (Virtual Show) SOTA Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2020, BODY PLANTS, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2019, BIG WEIRDO, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2018, LOST IN KNOWN TERRITORY, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town. SA
2017, ARTIFICIAL BEASTS, AITY Gallery, Franschhoek. SA
2016, BREAKING THE MOULD, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville.
2016, IN FULL BLOOM, AITY Gallery, Franschhoek.
2015, OBSESSES WITH OURSELVES, SOTA Gallery, Cape Town.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2022, Reflections, 99Loop Gallery, Cape Town. New Bijou Members vol. II, Bijou Studios, Cape Town.
2021, Little Villains, (ongoing display in gallery and insta - @little.villains), Ebony Curated, Franschhoek. New Bijou Members vol. I, Bijou Studios, Cape Town.
2019, Not a Portrait, Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville. Self, Glen Carlou Art Gallery, Klupmuts.
2018, Undercurrents, SOTA Gallery, cape Town. Side Street Member, Side Street studios, Cape Town. Verging Threshholds, Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town. Summer Sale, Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville. Summer Salon, AITY Gallery, Fanschhoek. Divergent Tides, Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town.
2017, In Good Company, Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town. Sanlam Portrait Award top 40, Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville. South Facing, Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town. Summer Salon, Die Kuns Kamer. Cape Town. Sakpas, Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville. Franschhoek Art Festival, AITY Gallery, Franschhoek. Spring, SOTA Gallery, Cape Town.
2016, Summer Salon, Salon 91, Cape Town. Phyicles, The White House, Plettenberg Bay. Naughty Scoundrels, Pendock Wine Gallery, Cape Town. Little Villains, Chandler House, Cape Town. Life, Body, Time, SOTA Gallery, Cape Town. Studio 41 Members show, Studio 41, Cape Town .
2015, Vuleka Finalists Group Show, Art b, Bellville. The Grand, Rust-en-Vrede, Durbanville. Emerging S.A. Artists, SOTA Gallery, Cape Town.
PUBLICATIONS AND SELECTED PRESS:
Reflections, Group Show, Mutual Art, November 26, 2023.
Where Two Rivers Meet, Exhibition, art.co.za, December 5, 2020.
Body Plants, Exhibtion, Weekend Special, January 1, 2020.
Undercurrents, Group Show, Tripadvisor, November 2018.
50th Edition Front Cover, WeAr Magazine. April 01, 2017,
40th Edition Front Cover, The Afropolitan magazine. June 19, 2016,
JURIED PANELS:
2019, Jury Member, SOTA Gallery art competition, Cultivating Culture, SA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
2016 – 2023 Member for AfrikaBurn Art Selection Committee and Art Grant Allocation Panel, SA
2005, Teaching Assistant, Still Life painting, Ruth Prowse School of Art, Cape Town, SA
2004, Teaching Assistant, Figure studies, Ruth Prowse School of Art, Cape Town, SA
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Hans Porer Collection, Switzerland.
Celvin/Uller Collection, Sweden.
Danish Society of Engineers Collection, Copenhagen.
Clayton/Lith Collection, South Africa.
Die Kuns Kamer Collection, South Africa.
About
b. Cape Town, SA, 1983. Lives and works in Cape Town, SA and Ostuni, Italy.
EDUCATION:
2005, Ruth Prowse School of Art. Diploma in Fine Art, Majoring in Painting and Printmaking.
2007, The Animation School, Internationally recognises certificates in Maya and 3DS Max.
STATEMENT:
‘Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear and punishment.’
Mahatma Gandi.
As a Queer man I find myself interacting with the world from a multitude of perspectives. Growing up I felt that I lived in a world divided between beliefs that lay in opposition. Today my art practice is perpetuated by my everyday experience with opposition and seeks to heal and overcome feelings of fear and marginalisation through images that ask the viewer to hold multiple perspectives, accept disorderly forms and never to question what the heart desires.
Since 2013, Denovan has presented 11 solo exhibitions. He has participated in numerous group shows, at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Chandler House, Salon 91, AITY Gallery, Ebony Curated and The Irma Stern Museum in Cape Town. Since 2019, Denovan has been selected annually for the RMB Turbine Art Fair and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair. In 2014, Denovan was short-listed for the Vuleka Competition for his portrait titled Kouros. In 2016, Denovan was the first non Danish artist selected to paint the portrait of the IDA’s chairman in Copenhagen. A tradition dating back to the 1800s. Denovan’s work is featured in the Hans Porer collection in Switzerland, the Celvin/Uller collection in Sweden and the IDA Headquarters in Copenhagen. In 2017, Denovan was selected as a finalist for the Sanlam Portrait Award, and in 2019, he was granted the Bosch and Simons Art Residency in Chelva, Spain. Denovan is currently represented by 99 Loop Gallery in Cape Town, SOTA Gallery Online and Ebony Curated in Franschhoek.
View Denovan’s available work on Artsy.
AWARDS, MURALS, RESIDENCIES AND GRANTS:
2022, Afrikaburn Art Grant (Temporary Burn Sculpture), Man In The Hat II, Tankwa Karoo, SA.
2019, Bosch and Simons Art Residency, Chelva, Spain.
2018, Afrikaburn Art Grant (Temporary Burn Sculpture), Man In The Hat I and the Lamp Clan, Tankwa Karoo, SA.
2018, Selected artist for temporary mural at Outrage of Modesty, Mixology bar, SA
2017, Finalist for the Sanlam Portrait Award, SA.
2014, Short-listed for the Vuleka Art Competition, SA.
2007, Best Character Concept Prize for an animated short film, The Animation School, SA.