Selected Works
Chris Soal, Panorama, 2022, Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polyurethane Sealant on Board, 154 x 152 x 5 cm
Chris Soal, Ariadne’s Thread, Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polyurethane Sealant on Board, 128 x 97 x 5 cm
Chris Soal
Born 1994, South Africa
Chris Soal (b. 1994, South Africa) is an award-winning, emerging artist living and practicing in Johannesburg.
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.
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.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024
Vestige, Eduardo Secci Gallery, Pietrasanta, Italy
Surface Tension, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa
2023
Finds Taken For Wonders, Piero Atchugarry Gallery, Miami, FL
L'art de rien at CENTRALE for contemporary art, Brussels
2022
Remains to be seen, Eduardo Secci Gallery, Milan, Italy.
2021
Elegy, Nirox Foundation, Cradle of Humankind, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sleight and Substance, Montoro 12, Brussels, Belgium.
2019
Field of Vision, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa.
2018
Orbits of Relating, No End Contemporary Art Space, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
L’Art de Rien, CENTRALE Brussels, Belgium
To Whistle Back, , Oude Leeskamer, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2022
A Quiet New Focu, Villa-Legoadi Centre for Sculpture, Nirox Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Seeds of the Fig, Krone & WHATIFTHEWORLD, Tulbagh, South Africa.
2021
In Times Like These...and Other Stories, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa.
Witness, Piero Atchugarry Gallery, Miami, Florida.
40 under 40, Twee Jonge Gezellen Wine Estate, Krone & WHATIFTHEWORLD, Tulbagh, South Africa.
Margins of Error, Nirox Sculpture Park, Cradle of Humankind, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2020
Matereality, Iziko National Museum of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.
2019
Process, BKhz, Braamfontein, South Africa.
Il est une fois à l’Ouest, Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA, Bordeaux, France.
2018
Germination, RAW Material Company, Dakar, Senegal.
Forward? Forward! Forward..., Stellenbosch University Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
2017
NEWWORK19, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2016
Activate/Captivate: Collections re-engagement, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Videos
Get to Know our Artists:
Chris Soal
Working with everyday objects to create unusual sculptures, Chris Soal explores themes such as space ecology, and the relationship between individual and collective in works heavily influenced by his experience living and working between Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Soal combines abandoned items such as toothpicks and bottle caps with industrial materials, examining aspects of urban living, environmental concerns, and challenging societal norms of value.
Past Exhibition
Finds Taken For Wonders
April 15th — July 29th, 2023
Piero Atchugarry Gallery is pleased to announce Finds Taken For Wonders, the debut solo-exhibition in our Miami Survey of newly represented South African artist Chris Soal.