INFORMATION

BIOGRAPHY

Portrait by Matthew Bradley.

Chris Soal (b. 1994) is an award-winning, emerging South African artist.

Soal’s studio-based practice is sculptural in its output, working with objects and materials in ways which show not only a conceptual engagement with the contexts and histories of the objects, but that also re-enforce the body as a site for knowledge reception and production.

Soal’s works seek to make a poetic statement through the simplest of means, engaging the viewer’s spatial awareness and perception while challenging societal assumptions of value.

Through his use of discarded and mundane ephemera, such as toothpicks and bottle caps, along with concrete, rebar, electric fencing cable and other industrial materials, Soal’s work intuitively develops the familiar to the point of the uncanny. Soal’s works can be considered as a social abstraction that is deeply rooted and reflective of having grown up in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Specifically, the artist’s work with beer bottle caps explore the legacy of gold mining in the city, with the illusory concavities and convexities of his spiralled wall pieces becoming suggestive of the appearance and disappearance of mine dumps and sinkholes. Foregrounding pressing ecological concerns, the artist’s works with toothpicks primarily consider and seek to expose the paradoxical relationship humankind has with nature, that of simultaneous dependence and domination.

CONTACT

CHRIS SOAL
︎ Instagram
︎ Email

NEWS

SEPTEMBER ‘22 - FNB ART JOBURG

Chris Soal forms part of a group presentation by WHATIFTHEWORLD at the FNB Art Joburg Fair. View the presentation at Booth Nr 5 in the Gallery Hub Section.

︎Click here for more information.

SEPTEMBER ‘22 - KIAF SEOUL

Chris Soal forms part of a group presentation by Eduardo Secci Gallery at KIAF in Seoul, South Korea. View the presentation at Booth A55.

︎Click here for more information.

APRIL ‘22 - ART BRUSSELS

WHATIFTHEWORLD and Chris Soal are pleased to present a solo presentation of new works at Art Brussels 2022. View the presentation at Booth D20 in the Discovery Section.

︎Click here for more information.

APRIL ‘22 - EXPO CHICAGO

Chris Soal formed part of a group presentation by WHATIFTHEWORLD in the 2022 Expo Chicago.

︎Click here for more information.

MARCH ‘22 - ARTIST IN RESIDENCY WITH SAFFCA.EU

Chris Soal is one of the first 2022 resident artists in the SAFFCA.EU artist in residency programme.

︎Click here for more information.

OCTOBER ‘21 - NORVAL FOUNDATION

Chris Soal is pleased to have been included in the announced shortlist for The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize.

The 30 shortlisted artworks are presented in an exhibition at Norval Foundation until 28 February 2022, and form part of The Norval Sovereign African Art Auction hosted by Sotheby’s.

︎Click here for more information.

PRESS

PALIMPSEST: CHRIS SOAL’S SCULPTURES REVEAL MANY MEANINGS
︎ by Drew Haller for That Eclectic

INTERVIEW
︎ with Adam Hencz for Artland

INTERVIEW
︎ with Artoday

INTERVIEW
︎ on As below so above for Tongues

INTERVIEW
︎ with Emilie Froment for Habitat Magazine

AMORPHOUS - THE SCULPTURES
OF CHRIS SOAL
︎ by Andrew Lasane for COLOSSAL

JOHANNESBURG ARTIST’S TOOTHPICK SCULPTURES POINT WAY FOR AFRICAN ABSTRACTION
︎ by Graham Wood on Wanted Online

FIELD OF VISION REVIEW
︎ by Ashraf Jamal on ArtThrob

STUDIO

EXHIBITIONS

ELEGY

MARGINS OF ERROR

AS ABOVE AS BELOW

WORK

WORK

INFO