Vivian van Blerk

Vivian van Blerk was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1971. He acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in 1995 from the University of Cape Town where he specialized in print-making and photography. He lives and works in Paris since 1997.

Time is a fundamental actor in his art both as  subject and process. His artworks need days, weeks or even months to develop as interacting elements in the medium gradually acquire a density and complexity that mirrors life. This organic process creates a world that operates with its own unique yet believably coherent logic.  

The worlds he creates speak of some indeterminate future time.  It is a time far enough from now to allow for cities to crumble and be covered in forests, for corals to grow on sunken cars, and for creatures to evolve characteristics often unfamiliar. In this Time to come there might not be humans or elephants or plastic bottles, but there will certainly be Something. And, that Something will be built on the profound vestiges of our human legacy. His vision looks into the vastness of time and space without sentimentality or false optimism for humanity, yet with a deeply tender humor for the beauty that will exist with or without regard for us. 

His work can be found in numerous public and private collections including the South African National Gallery, SA; Foundation d’entreprise Colas, Boulogne; University of Chicago, Cultural Policy Center; and the Art Collection of American Embassies, US State Department.