Notable Achievements 2023
Read Errol's guest curation for What Artists Like #2
In Errol Theunissen’s paintings, day-to-day activities feel strange, exciting, full of possibility. Looking at the paintings, we are immediately drawn to the people around which the compositions revolve. However, the human body occupies relatively little pictorial space. It is the surrounding space that makes the paintings full of intrigue and interest, providing possibilities for narrative. The frequent depiction of animals, in particular dogs, puts the human body into action, holding a ball or toy, or simply engaging in an act of play. All of this is key to building a composition, yet no less important are the layers of meaning encoded in the images. Colour appears heightened with an unexpected vibrancy, something that Theunissen attributes to his memories of Africa. As such, the paintings are situated somewhere between past and present, between memory and now. It is this that makes them feel so pertinent and pressing.