UNRAVEL - to unravel is to undo the twisted, to solve, clear up, to fathom and come to terms with.

"This body of work  is autobiographical in a sense that each artwork represents an aspect of my own process in coming to terms with my own truth, and an expression of that. Coming out as a gay man, a father and husband a few years back, initiated the process of carefully unraveling an old life without breaking the strands and connections I have with my family. It is in the unraveling of the old and the process of reweaving where beauty lies, although difficult and painful at times.

As in life, so in art - the technique that developed throughout has also been an unraveling of my paint style. The liberating process of taking the artwork apart as it is broken down into emotional brush and knife strokes, smearing paint into loose strands of colour to form a new whole. This approach gives the viewer the opportunity to weave their own imagination into the artwork - to fill in the missing detail. Ultimately my work is an exercise in letting go, into the truth of the moment, letting the artwork happen as it is. True." - Floris van Zyl

The exhibition will run concurrently online  for those unable to attend.

For more information and to preview or purchase work prior to the opening please visit the website.

Show Opens: 02 April 2015, 5pm - 9pm

Exhibition continues until 18 April 2015

61 Shortmarket Street, (between Loop and Bree) Cape Town.
Gallery hours: 10-5 weekdays, 10-2 Saturdays.

About Floris van Zyl

Floris van Zyl is a contemporary South African artist based in the Midlands of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Born 1971, he grew up in Pretoria and was drawn to the arts from a very young age. He qualified as a Graphic Designer in 1993 where after he started his own design agency. By 2009 he relocated to the countryside and started painting full time. He brings to his work the analytical eye of a graphic designer but tempers this formality with a loose, almost reckless method of applying paint to his canvas.His subject is rendered in blocks and dabs of colour often built up layer upon layer achieving his intention of, “creating images that work at a distance but become even more rewarding at close range.” He explores these combinations of natural and man-made shapes in his portraits and figure studies where the human form is sometimes set against rigid formal structured shapes. Inspiration comes from many sources: “I am influenced and inspired by my own life, also by observing the lives of other people”. Before making a mark on the canvas Floris determines what he calls the subject’s emotional climate. “It is more a feeling than anything else.” Next he considers the technical aspects of the subject, such as its shape, textures and colours. “I decide how I can use these to promote the feeling I want to achieve. I have a general idea of the ‘feeling’ of the painting before I begin. I find the appropriate references and the correct way to paint it, so that there is nothing Inessential or unrelated to the topic in the process. It is difficult to describe, but I like to be direct and to the point with the subject. Much of my work is expressive so there is always something new for the viewer to notice and discover, even after long inspection. My work is an ongoing process of self-challenge and evolution, I don't like to get stuck on a recipe. I want to give people the opportunity to enjoy and interpret my work largely for themselves.” Floris sells his paintings on great demand across the world. Quite a large numbers of these are direct commissions from local and international collectors. He frequently participates with great success in local and international exhibitions and his work has been published in various authoritative art publications. 

Available work can be viewed online at StateoftheART