Chris Soal
Bio
Chris Soal (b. 1994, South Africa) is an award-winning, emerging artist living and practicing in Johannesburg. In 2017, Soal graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts (Hons) at the University of Witwatersrand. He has received numerous awards, such as the Claire & Edoardo Villa Will Trust Grant (2020), the SEED Award from the South African Foundation for Contemporary Art, (2019) and the PPC Imaginarium Award (2018). He has been awarded residencies by the South African Foundation of Contemporary Art (Knysna, South Africa), by the RAW Material Company (Dakar, Senegal), the Residenza Roma by Montoro12 (Italy), and by the Nirox Foundation (Cradle of Humankind, South Africa). In 2020 he was a recipient of The Claire and Edoardo Villa Will Trust Grant. He has exhibited in group shows at institutions such as the Nirox Sculpture Park (2021), Iziko National Museum (2020), FRAC MECA, Bordeaux (2019), Stellenbosch University Museum (2018), and Wits Art Museum (2017). Most recently his solo exhibition, As below so above, was held at Whatiftheworld Gallery in 2021.
Statement
Using unconventional found objects, such as toothpicks and bottle caps, in conjunction with concrete and other industrial materials, Soal negotiates structural impacts on urban living and reflects on ecological concerns, while considering the philosophical and psychological notion of the “self.” Soal’s spatial approach to sculpture reveals a sensitivity to texture, light and form, expressed in an abstract minimalist language. While, conceptually, his works refer to the socio-political context of their making, highlighting the histories embedded in the found material, and utilising them in a way that challenges societal assumptions of value.
