South African visual artist Chris Denovan

Chris Denovan

Cape Town | 2 artworks for sale

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  • Turn To Sea - Painting by Chris Denovan Turn To Sea
    Painting / 160 x 120 cm
    R50 000
  • The Family Jewels - Painting by Chris Denovan The Family Jewels
    Painting / 160 x 110 cm
    R48 000
  • Once At Night - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Once At Night
    Painting / 125 x 119 cm
  • Water Of The Nile - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Water Of The Nile
    Painting / 95 x 115 cm
  • A Dream - Painting by Chris Denovan
    A Dream
    Painting / 140 x 140 cm
  • Thistle - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Thistle
    Painting / 97 x 105 cm
  • Emerald Pulse - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Emerald Pulse
    Painting / 165 x 110 cm
  • Boy In Yellow - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Boy In Yellow
    Painting / 76 x 76 cm
  • Statues - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Statues
    Painting / 125 x 119 cm
  • The Growing Moon - Painting by Chris Denovan
    The Growing Moon
    Painting / 120 x 80 cm
  • From Out Of The Shallow Seas - Painting by Chris Denovan
    From Out Of The Shallow Seas
    Painting / 105 x 97 cm
  • A Secret Letter - Painting by Chris Denovan
    A Secret Letter
    Painting / 160 x 120 cm
  • In The Shade Of A Tree - Painting by Chris Denovan
    In The Shade Of A Tree
    Painting / 76 x 76 cm
  • As We Knew It - Painting by Chris Denovan
    As We Knew It
    Painting / 75 x 50 cm
  • Broken Pieces - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Broken Pieces
    Painting / 130 x 130 cm
  • New World Order - Painting by Chris Denovan
    New World Order
    Painting / 134 x 88 cm
  • Many Voices - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Many Voices
    Painting / 130 x 130 cm
  • Artist's Palette - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Artist's Palette
    Painting / 105 x 97 cm
  • Before She Knew - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Before She Knew
    Painting / 165 x 110 cm
  • Sithsaba  - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Sithsaba
    Painting / 80 x 80 cm
  • Thorn - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Thorn
    Painting / 105 x 97 cm
  • Shadow Shape - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Shadow Shape
    Painting / 105 x 97 cm
  • Crimson - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Crimson
    Painting / 105 x 97 cm
  • Orchid - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Orchid
    Painting / 105 x 97 cm
  • Into Leaves - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Into Leaves
    Painting / 175 x 125 cm
  • Echo Of My Sister - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Echo Of My Sister
    Painting / 120 x 125 cm
  • Ode To David - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Ode To David
    Painting / 116 x 180 cm
  • Mirrored (Triptych) - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Mirrored (Triptych)
    Painting / 130 x 276 cm
  • Follower - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Follower
    Painting / 116 x 180 cm
  • Portrait Of Mukesh - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Portrait Of Mukesh
    Painting / 130 x 130 cm
  • Jonathan Daniels (Triptych) - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Jonathan Daniels (Triptych)
    Painting / 55 x 188 cm
  • Execution (Michaelangelo Scott) - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Execution (Michaelangelo Scott)
    Painting / 60 x 180 cm
  • Bianca Mavuso - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Bianca Mavuso
    Painting / 169 x 108 cm
  • Burgeon I - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Burgeon I
    Painting / 120 x 120 cm
  • Portrait of Janelle - Large Portrait Painting by Chris Denovan
    Portrait of Janelle
    Large Portrait Painting / 120 x 130 cm
  • Portrait of Safia - Large Portrait Painting by Chris Denovan
    Portrait of Safia
    Large Portrait Painting / 120 x 130 cm
  • Portrait of Damara - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Portrait of Damara
    Painting / 130 x 130 cm
  • Portrait of Lilah - Painting by Chris Denovan
    Portrait of Lilah
    Painting / 116 x 180 cm
  • This Belongs To Me - Extra Large Oil Painting by Chris Denovan
    This Belongs To Me
    Extra Large Oil Painting / 116 x 180 cm
  • Portrait of Ishi - Large Portrait Painting by Chris Denovan
    Portrait of Ishi
    Large Portrait Painting / 130 x 130 cm
  • Licence To Stare - Large Mixed Media Painting by Chris Denovan
    Licence To Stare
    Large Mixed Media Painting / 124 x 189 cm
At art school I wasn’t very honest with myself - how can you make art if you're not interested in looking in the one place where it lives; YOU!

Having left art school I was disillusioned and felt lost in the art world. I turned my back on painting and tried to move forward to something else. So I studied and worked in animation. This semi worked for 5 years, and while I didn’t touch a brush to canvas, I did start to learn more about me.

Then one day someone very close to me died and life did a somersault which resulted in me picking up a brush once more. Painting again never felt so right. I resigned from my job as an animator, made an art studio for myself and started to create art again. This time with a more mature and honest approach. Gerhard Richter once said; 'Art is like religion; You only know it once you've lost it'. This rang true to me and I knew I was meant to be a painter and nothing else.

N.Dip Fine Art (Ruth Prowse School Of Fine Art)

Christopher Denovan was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1983. He graduated from Ruth Prowse with a body of work focusing on Portraiture depicting Prejudice and Discrimination in gender and ethnicity. In 2006 Chris began studies at 'The Animation School' where he went on to win the 'Best Concept Characters' prize and graduated with two internationally recognised certificates in Maya and 3D studio Max.
In 2008 Chris signed on at the animation studio 'Clockwork Zoo' as head of the backgrounds department and animator developing international shows such as Florries Dragons, Caillou, and Mr Bebe.
In 2010 Chris left the Clockwork Zoo studios to focus on his fine art. He has exhibited his paintings in various group shows locally in South Africa while developing his own personal style. The artist was commissioned by the Danish Society of Engineers IDA på DTU to paint a portrait of their first female Chairman, Frida Frost in 2015.
In 2020 Chris was scheduled to partake in an artist residency in Spain but sadly that was dashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Selected Exhibitions:

2024
Group exhibition 'The Shipping Forecast', StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town
 
2021
Solo exhibition 'Escape Island Right Now!', 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town
 
2020
Solo exhibition 'Where Two Rivers Meet', 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town
Solo exhibition 'Body Plants', 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town
Solo exhibition, 'Where Two Rivers Meet', 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town

2019
Solo exhibition 'Big Wierdo', 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town

2018

Group exhibition 'Undercurrents' at StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town
Group exhibition 'Voyage' at Art In The Yard, Franschhoek
Solo exhibition 'Lost In Known Territory', 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town
Group exhibition: Sanlam Portrait Award 2017, University of Johannesburg Art Gallery

2017
Group exhibition 'Untitled: Spring', StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town
Group exhibition 'Dream Rift', Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town
Sanlam Portrait Award Top 40, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town
Solo Exhibition 'Artficial Beasts', Art In The Yard, Franschhoek

2016
Group exhibition 'Life.Body.Time', StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town
Solo exhibition 'Breaking The Mould', Rust-en-Vrede Gallery,
Group exhibition 'Manuscript', StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town

2015
Solo exhibition 'Obsessed With Ourselves', StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town

2013

Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town
Salon 91, Cape Town
The White House, Plettenberg Bay
Pendock Wine Gallery, Cape Town
Chandler House, Cape Town
StateoftheART, Cape Town

Which new trends or South African artists do you find inspiring at the moment?
I'm the least trendy person in the world. Me as a trend is my favourite right now.
Ngobeni Blessing.
Simphiwe Ndzube.

Which South African deceased artist do you most admire and why?
Thats a hard one. I’d say Alexis Prellers. His work is complex, detailed and very unusual.

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
Any of my dear late Mothers work would be great!

Pick three artists who you would be honored to exhibit with – and why
My Mom, Doron Langberg, Egon Shiele.

How did you get started? Did you always want to be an artist?
Ya I always wanted to be an artist. I had alot of encouragment and so I started and then I stopped and then I started again!

What are some of the key themes you explore in your work?
Beauty, Confidence, Strength, Power

What should people know about your art that they can’t tell from looking at it?
I dance and sing a lot while making my artworks.

Tell us more about your creative process.
Magicians never reveal their secrets.

Do you believe an artist should use their platform to influence society? Why?
Yes Sure. Art can influence society by changing opinions, instilling values and translating experiences across space and time

Do you have a favourite or most meaningful work?
A Portrait I did of my Parents when I was younge

What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?
After giving up art I’d say my best achievment was getting back into and sticking in it.

What are your aspirations for the future?
World Domination.

 

Read more in a studio visit and interview with Chris Denovan (2018)