There’s a tenderness in Errol Theunissen’s work that’s hard to describe but instantly felt. You don’t just see the figures, curled under blankets, stretched across blue sofas, you feel the atmosphere they’re held in. The texture of the paint mirrors the texture of the moment, the soft fur of the dog, the fabric of the blanket, the shared warmth between them. It’s not illustrative. It’s embodied.
These are paintings that honour the body, not as something posed, but lived in. The children aren’t performing for us. The dog isn’t symbolic. They’re simply there, inside a moment of closeness, where nothing needs to be explained.
The pleasure in these works is quiet and physical. Crisps. Cartoons. A dog pressed against your ribs. The kind of domestic safety that builds slowly, day after day, until it becomes a world. The emotional density of being safe, where the body is supported, and nothing has to be said.
This is work that doesn’t push itself forward, but stays exactly where it is, and invites you to come closer. Not to look, but to feel.
It’s exactly this quality, this rare ability to hold something so daily, so unguarded, that makes Theunissen’s work feel quietly extraordinary.
The work isn’t just true, it’s felt, held, rarely named, and rarely made visible without distortion.
Artist Statement
I mainly paint in oil. I often use situations in my environment, home, and community as my subject matter. I do not feel I need to go searching for inspiration or beauty, but seek it in my day-to-day surroundings, my own everyday experiences, my memories of Africa and stories I have heard or photos I have seen relating to my interesting family history. I also include animals in some of my work. The relationship between humans and animals has a special place in my practice as I am aware of the importance of animals and the benefits of our relationships with them in this complex world we live in. It is as if I capture beautiful moments between people, or people and animals, and transfer these moments from my mind to canvas. I use a bright colour palette in my work which gives vibrancy and life to my paintings which often tell a story. Despite now living in the U.K. I am still closely linked to Africa through my use of colour and sometimes my subject matter.
