Explore KYOS
Barberton, South Africa

Oil, oxidised copper, rust, and found fragments

I never quite know where a painting is going to end up; the rust and canvas usually decide together.

Material study

Some surfaces take months of quiet waiting in the Barberton light before the copper turns.

Recent marks

Studies in decay and memory

Study I
Study II
Study III

Copper and Umber

Barberton Earth

Unfinished Margin

Oxidised metal fragments bound with raw oil pigments on heavy linen.

Local mineral deposits layered over torn paper and charcoal sketches.

Where the brush stops and the raw canvas is allowed to speak.

Thought fragment

The work is not finished when the paint dries—it is finished when it stops demanding new marks.

Retha Olivier

Write to the studio

Studio correspondence

Private viewings and curator inquiries by appointment in Barberton.