BIOGRAPHY
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.
–
Portrait by Jem Rose.
NEWS
FEBRUARY ‘24- CAPE TOWN ART FAIR
After his solo exhibition at WhatIfTheWorld galley, the Cape Town art fair will welcome Chris’ new œuvres. The exhibition takes place from the 15th
to the 18th of February 2024.
FEBRUARY ‘24- SOLO EXHIBITION x WHATIFTHEWORLD
Watch the space for updates pertaining Chris Soal’s exhibition scheduled for beginning of February 2024. Chris Soal’s new body of work is debuting at WhatIfTheWorld gallery in the new year.
NOVEMBER ‘23 - CENTRALE
Pop in to see one of Chris Soal’s works, titled ‘You pulled me close to tear me apart’ (2019) exhibited at L’Art de Rien in the CENTRALE art centre in Brussels. The exhibition takes place from the 22nd of November 2023 to the 17th of March 2024.
CURRICULUM VITAE
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 - Finds taken for wonders,
Piero Atchugarry Gallery,
Miami, USA
2022 - Remains to be seen,
Eduardo Secci Gallery,
Milan, Italy
2022 - Solo presentation at Art Brussels,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Brussels, Belgium
2021 - Elegy,
Nirox Foundation,
Johannesburg
2021 - As below so above,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Cape Town
2019 – Field of Vision,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Cape Town
2019 – Solo Presentation at
TOMORROWS/TODAY,
Curated by Tumelo Mosaka,
Investec Cape Town Art Fair
Cape Town
Piero Atchugarry Gallery,
Miami, USA
2022 - Remains to be seen,
Eduardo Secci Gallery,
Milan, Italy
2022 - Solo presentation at Art Brussels,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Brussels, Belgium
2021 - Elegy,
Nirox Foundation,
Johannesburg
2021 - As below so above,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Cape Town
2019 – Field of Vision,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Cape Town
2019 – Solo Presentation at
TOMORROWS/TODAY,
Curated by Tumelo Mosaka,
Investec Cape Town Art Fair
Cape Town
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 - l’Art de Rien,
CENTRALE
Brussels, Belgium
2022 - To Whistle Back,
Oude Leeskamer, Stellenbosch,
South Africa
2022 - A Quiet New Focus,
Villa Legodi Centre for Sculpture,
Johannesburg, South Africa
2022 - Seeds of the Fig, Krone x WHATIFTHEWORLD, curated by RESEVOIR, Tulbagh, South Africa
2022 - Earth Power!,
Montoro 12,
Brussels, Belgium
2022 - The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize Finalists Exhibition,
Norval Foundation,
Cape Town
2021 - In Times Like These...and Other Stories,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Cape Town
2021 - Witness, curated by Natasha Becker
Piero Atchugarry Gallery, Miami
2021 - 40 under 40, curated by Igsaan Martin.
Twee Jonge Gezellen Wine Estate, Krone x WHATIFTHEWORLD, Tulbagh
2021 - Margins of Error,
Nirox Sculpture Park,
Johannesburg
2020 – Matereality
Iziko South African National Gallery
Cape Town
2019 – Process
BKhz,
Braamfontein
2019 – Il est une fois à l’Ouest
Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA
Bordeaux, France
2018 – Germination
RAW Material Company
Dakar, Senegal
2018 – Forward?
Curated by Ulrich Wolff and Elizabeth Miller-Vermeulen,
Stellenbosch University Museum,
Stellenbosch
2018 – Fresh Voices
Guns and Rain Gallery
Johannesburg
2017 – NEWWORK19
Wits Art Museum
Johannesburg
2016 – Activate/Captivate: Collections Re-engagement
Wits Art Museum
Johannesburg
CENTRALE
Brussels, Belgium
2022 - To Whistle Back,
Oude Leeskamer, Stellenbosch,
South Africa
2022 - A Quiet New Focus,
Villa Legodi Centre for Sculpture,
Johannesburg, South Africa
2022 - Seeds of the Fig, Krone x WHATIFTHEWORLD, curated by RESEVOIR, Tulbagh, South Africa
2022 - Earth Power!,
Montoro 12,
Brussels, Belgium
2022 - The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize Finalists Exhibition,
Norval Foundation,
Cape Town
2021 - In Times Like These...and Other Stories,
WHATIFTHEWORLD,
Cape Town
2021 - Witness, curated by Natasha Becker
Piero Atchugarry Gallery, Miami
2021 - 40 under 40, curated by Igsaan Martin.
Twee Jonge Gezellen Wine Estate, Krone x WHATIFTHEWORLD, Tulbagh
2021 - Margins of Error,
Nirox Sculpture Park,
Johannesburg
2020 – Matereality
Iziko South African National Gallery
Cape Town
2019 – Process
BKhz,
Braamfontein
2019 – Il est une fois à l’Ouest
Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA
Bordeaux, France
2018 – Germination
RAW Material Company
Dakar, Senegal
2018 – Forward?
Curated by Ulrich Wolff and Elizabeth Miller-Vermeulen,
Stellenbosch University Museum,
Stellenbosch
2018 – Fresh Voices
Guns and Rain Gallery
Johannesburg
2017 – NEWWORK19
Wits Art Museum
Johannesburg
2016 – Activate/Captivate: Collections Re-engagement
Wits Art Museum
Johannesburg
COLLABORATIONS
2020 – Selected as one of ten contemporary artists to participate in the 5th edition of the Dior Lady Art project.
AWARDS
2021 – Finalist, Norval Sovereign African Art Prize, Cape Town, South Africa.
2020 – Recipient of The Claire & Edoardo Villa Will Trust Grant.
2019 – SEED Award
Presented by the Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA) - For career acknolwedgment.
2018 – PPC Imaginarium Award, Overall winner, and winner of the Sculpture category.
2020 – Recipient of The Claire & Edoardo Villa Will Trust Grant.
2019 – SEED Award
Presented by the Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA) - For career acknolwedgment.
2018 – PPC Imaginarium Award, Overall winner, and winner of the Sculpture category.
RESIDENCIES
2022 - SAFFCA.EU, La Cambre, Brussels, Belgium
2021 - Nirox Foundation Residency, Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg
2019 – Roma Residenza, hosted by Montoro 12, Rome
2018 – Fellow of the RAW Academié Session 5, directed by Otobong Nkanga. RAW Material Company. Dakar, Senegal
2018 – Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art. Co-resident with Minnette Vari. Entabeni Farm, Knysna
2021 - Nirox Foundation Residency, Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg
2019 – Roma Residenza, hosted by Montoro 12, Rome
2018 – Fellow of the RAW Academié Session 5, directed by Otobong Nkanga. RAW Material Company. Dakar, Senegal
2018 – Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art. Co-resident with Minnette Vari. Entabeni Farm, Knysna
COLLECTIONS
Chris Soal has work in numerous private and public collections, both in South Africa and Internationally. Notable collections include:
The Brooklyn Museum, USA.
The Bunker Artspace, (The Beth Rudin DeWoody collection), USA.
The Braunsfelder Family Collection, Germany.
The Darlene and Jorge M. Perez Collection, Miami, USA.
The Kelly and Scott Mueller Collection, USA.
The Renee and Robert Drake Collection, Netherlands.
Frédéric de Goldschmidt Collection - Cloud Seven, Brussels.
Scheryn Art Collection, South Africa.
Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA), South Africa, France, Belgium.
Kavita Chellaram Art collection, London, Lagos.
Martin Nielsen Collection, Denmark.
MONA - The Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, Australia.
The Trevor Noah Collection, South Africa & USA.
LAM Museum, Lisse, Netherlands.
Arsenal Contemporary, Montreal; Toronto; New York.
MACAAL Museum, Morocco.
Francesca Lavazza Collection, Turin, Italy.
The Bunker Artspace, (The Beth Rudin DeWoody collection), USA.
The Braunsfelder Family Collection, Germany.
The Darlene and Jorge M. Perez Collection, Miami, USA.
The Kelly and Scott Mueller Collection, USA.
The Renee and Robert Drake Collection, Netherlands.
Frédéric de Goldschmidt Collection - Cloud Seven, Brussels.
Scheryn Art Collection, South Africa.
Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA), South Africa, France, Belgium.
Kavita Chellaram Art collection, London, Lagos.
Martin Nielsen Collection, Denmark.
MONA - The Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, Australia.
The Trevor Noah Collection, South Africa & USA.
LAM Museum, Lisse, Netherlands.
Arsenal Contemporary, Montreal; Toronto; New York.
MACAAL Museum, Morocco.
Francesca Lavazza Collection, Turin, Italy.
PRESS
REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND ARTICLES
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
︎ 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
INFORMATION
BIOGRAPHY
Portrait by Matt Slater.
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 perceptual habits while challenging core societal preconceptions of value and hierarchy.
Through his use of discarded and mundane ephemera, such as toothpicks and bottle caps, along with concrete, rebar, electric fencing cable, sandpaper and other industrial materials, the artist intuitively develops the familiar to the point of the uncanny. Soal’s works can be considered as a social abstraction that is deeply rooted in, and reflective of, having grown up in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Working symbiotically with his materials, Soal utilises the inherent physical characteristics of the objects to transform them through processes of aggregation, combination and erosion to interrogate views of nature and culture as a binary concept – seeking to foreground pressing ecological concerns by repositioning the viewer as an active agent within the contemporary environment. Despite the artificiality of his materials, Soal’s process allows the materials to take on biomorphic qualities or evoke natural phenomena, expressing his interest in the phenomenological quality of the materials.
NEWS
SEPTEMPER ‘24 - THE ARMORY SHOW
New York welcomed Chris Soal for the first time at The Armory Show. Be ready to have your breath taken away from Sep 6th - 8th in booth F7.
AUGUST ‘24 - IOTA24
The second Indian Ocean Triennial welcomes Chris Soal’s sculptures at the John Curtin Gallery, Perth, Australia. IOTa runs from Aug - Oct 2024.
JUNE ‘24 - SOLO SHOW - ITALY
Vestige, Chris Soal’s latest solo exhibition, took place in Pietrasanta, Italy, in collaboration with Eduardo Secci gallery. It was a wonderful sight from the 7th June - 14th July.
APRIL ‘24 - ART BRUSSELS
New pieces of Chris Soal appeared at the contemporary art fair Art Brussels, Belgium, from the 25th to the 28th of April.
APRIL ‘24 - MIART
Miart 2024, titled No Time No Space showcased international artist Chris Soal in Milan, April 12-14.
APRIL ‘24 - DALLAS ART FAIR
Soal’s undisputably unique works featured at the Dallas Art Fair. Represented by Eduardo Secci gallery, the art fair took place from the 4th
to the 7th of April.
FEBRUARY ‘24 - CAPE TOWN ART FAIR
After his solo exhibition at WhatIfTheWorld galley, the Cape Town art fair welcomed Chris’ new œuvres. The exhibition took place from the 15th
to the 18th of February 2024.
FEBRUARY ‘24 - SOLO EXHIBITION x WHATIFTHEWORLD
Chris Soal’s solo exhibition was showing at WhatIfTheWorld gallery from the 3rd
February to the 9th of March. A fresh new body of work was displayed.
New York welcomed Chris Soal for the first time at The Armory Show. Be ready to have your breath taken away from Sep 6th - 8th in booth F7.
AUGUST ‘24 - IOTA24
The second Indian Ocean Triennial welcomes Chris Soal’s sculptures at the John Curtin Gallery, Perth, Australia. IOTa runs from Aug - Oct 2024.
JUNE ‘24 - SOLO SHOW - ITALY
Vestige, Chris Soal’s latest solo exhibition, took place in Pietrasanta, Italy, in collaboration with Eduardo Secci gallery. It was a wonderful sight from the 7th June - 14th July.
APRIL ‘24 - ART BRUSSELS
New pieces of Chris Soal appeared at the contemporary art fair Art Brussels, Belgium, from the 25th to the 28th of April.
APRIL ‘24 - MIART
Miart 2024, titled No Time No Space showcased international artist Chris Soal in Milan, April 12-14.
APRIL ‘24 - DALLAS ART FAIR
Soal’s undisputably unique works featured at the Dallas Art Fair. Represented by Eduardo Secci gallery, the art fair took place from the 4th
to the 7th of April.
FEBRUARY ‘24 - CAPE TOWN ART FAIR
After his solo exhibition at WhatIfTheWorld galley, the Cape Town art fair welcomed Chris’ new œuvres. The exhibition took place from the 15th
to the 18th of February 2024.
FEBRUARY ‘24 - SOLO EXHIBITION x WHATIFTHEWORLD
Chris Soal’s solo exhibition was showing at WhatIfTheWorld gallery from the 3rd
February to the 9th of March. A fresh new body of work was displayed.
UNEARTHING LAYERS: CHRIS SOAL’S ‘SURFACE TENSION’
︎ by Misha Krynauw for Artthrob
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
︎ by Misha Krynauw for Artthrob
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