Benine du Toit

CV

Curriculum Vitae

Education

2010-2014 Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht
BA Fine Art (Graduated June 2014)

Curated

ARTificial? Graduates 2017, October 2017, Galerie Sanaa, Utrecht, Netherlands

Jagged, September 2016, Galerie Sanaa, Utrecht, Netherlands

Newfangled, October 2015, Galerie Sanaa, Utrecht, Netherlands

Adjudicated

Kunstliefde members exhibition, Borders, 2017

Kunstliefde member exhibition, Not about me, 2018

Internships

Galerie Sanaa, May 2014
Ina van Zyl, May 2013

Exhibitions   

2018 Young Utrecht Delight

Galerie Sanaa, Utrecht, Netherlands (Group exhibition)

2017 Summer@SANAA
Galerie Sanaa, Utrecht, Netherlands (Group exhibition) - with items from B9 Handmades

2015 DIALOGUES OF TENSION
Galerie Lokaal Eisicht, Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands (solo exhibition)

2014 HKU FA TWG 2014 Graduation Show
Tractieweg 41, Utrecht, Netherlands (group exhibition)

2014 36 DAYS OF PAINTING
Academiegalerie, Utrecht, Netherlands (group exhibition)

2012 THE JOY OF REUNION
Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa & Casa-Museu Fernando Pessoa, Lisbon, Portugal (group exhibition)
BKS Garage, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Billedkunstkolerne, Denmark (group exhibition)
Das Spectrum, Utrecht, The Netherlands (group exhibition)

2012 MOMENTS IN TIME
Pretoria High school for Girls, South Africa (solo exhibition)

Publications    

2018 Made in Werkspoor
Catalogue of the Werkspoor Kwartier comunity                                                           

2014 HKU FA TWG 2014 
Collection of works by graduates of the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht 2014

2012 Printmaking, Installation & Poetry
The Joy of Reunion (Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa & Casa-Museu Fernando Pessoa – Faculty Publication, Portugal)

Biografie

Benine du Toit (1989)

My work consists of fragments of differentrealities. I make expressive, raw charcoal drawings and paintings relating to the problems, tensions and polarization of my native country, South Africa and increasingly the world.

Born in conservative Apartheid South Africa, I was part of the younger generation confronted with the sad, harsh reality of my homeland. Social, political, cultural and ethnic differences cause high tensions and polarization. Everyone lives in their own reality and fear of the other, something that is increasingly happening in the rest of the world and the Netherlands. I use scenes and photos from police archives and media, fragments of reality. I work with charcoal and paint. The rawness, roughness and expressiveness of charcoal combined with paint is unpredictable and gripping. Just like the vast contrasts in SouthAfrica, it changesconstantly and is never complete.

Moments of chaos during various protests and riots involving crowds in South Africa. I want to show the feeling of tension, fearand discomfort. Due to the partial abstractions and cut-outs of the scenes, the overview disappears, and it is not immediately clear what is going on. The hustle and bustle, helplessness and human contact is uncomfortable and recognizable to many in this time.

Pers

Benine du Toit is a nominee of the Koninklijke Prijs voor de vrije schilderkunst in 2020. Her work is on show in the Palace Amsterdam till end December 2020.

film A sense of belonging featuring Benine du Toit produced by Artforever