|
|
Remove Erika from your favorite artists list
Add Erika to your favorite artists list
About Erika
From as young as I can remember, I have always been enthralled by art. The array of different colours would captivate my mind, and to watch a picture come to life with the stroke of paintbrush made my young heart soar. I would draw, sketch, and paint with anything I could get my small hands on, and I would memorize all art techniques that I came across with a frenzied passion. Thus, I discovered my artistic talent at a young age.
I was born in the Limpopo Province in 1982, in the simple agricultural town of Modimolle. Growing up I struggled to fit in amongst my peers in the farming community. By high school I was frustrated, I knew I had the ability to expand upon my artistic skills, but the lack of art programs in the area made me feel stunted. I voiced my frustrations to my parents and they heard my pleas. They sent me to Pro Arte Alphen Park School in Pretoria, South-Africa, an opportunity that changed my life. It was here that I bloomed into the artist I am today.
Once done with school I studied fine art at the University of Pretoria, and I then went on to teach art at Optima College for the Visually Impaired. Here I learned about art from a whole new perspective. I had to learn how to explain colour through texture, how to form pictures through touch, and in many ways my students taught me. This experience influenced my work greatly. Thus the eyes in my work became a focal point and many textures became a staple.
Art helps me to communicate, you might say it is my language. It allows me to express my thoughts and emotions visually. Flight, escapism, the conscience and life itself are some of the topics I love to work with. I don't use any live models or photos as references when I paint my portraits, thus my figures are not always anatomically correct. All the people I create on canvas are from my dreams or memories. The people in my portraits do not exist until I start painting. They are a direct expression of emotion, and each one is completely unique.
I call myself an expressionist and an impressionist. I want to, have to, express myself on canvas, otherwise I feel I'd go mad. At the same time I want to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. I want them to look deep inside themselves and connect to my work in their own special way, making my dreams and memories their own. I want them to understand, through my art, what I cannot express in words.
I've worked for art distributors from the age of 18 and my work has been sold to art lovers in countries such as Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Russia, Italy, South-Africa and many more.
In 2017 I was chosen to participate in a TV show called Kunsvlyt on kykNET. I was one of ten participants chosen from 220 entries from all over the country. Participants were given a new challenge weekly to create an art project from scratch with anything from clay, paper, and wood, to plastic, mosaic, tiles, rope, etc. I have also had the pleasure of holding art classes for the well known South-African musician and artist, Jan Blohm.
In an interview with "Volksblad Newspaper" I was described as fearless in my use of colour. When asked if the birds in my paintings are religious symbols: "No, they are more a memory of something I saw in my past but also a symbol of where I am in the present, content but free at the same time."
Price Range
US$ 258-4,140
Email
Exhibitions
2001 - First one man show at the Art House Gallery in Modimolle, Limpopo province South-Africa.
Various group exhibitions held in Groblersdal, Paternoster and Foursieburg.
2006 - Second one man show held in Clarens at Clarens Interiors.
2007 - Il Forte exhibition (sold out).
2007 - Clarens Interiors.
2007 & 2008 - Exhibitions in Germany.
2015 - Erika Turvey Art Gallery and Studio collaboration Exhibition.
Education
Pro-Arte Alphen Park Highschool. Fine-arts at University of Pta.
People who chose Erika's work also chose work by:
Find other:
|
In the USA you can call us FREE on
