BIO:
Chrisél Attewell (b. 1994) is a multidisciplinary artist from South Africa. Her work is research-driven and experimental. Inspired by current socio-ecological concerns, Attewell’s work explores the nuances in people’s connection to the Earth and each other. She works with various mediums, including installation, sculpture, photography, printmaking and painting, and prefers natural materials, such as hemp canvas, oil paint, glass, clay, and stone.
She received her BFA from the University of Pretoria (Cum Laude, 2016) and her MFA from the University of Johannesburg (Cum Laude, 2023). Her work has been represented locally and internationally in numerous exhibitions, residencies, and art fairs. Attewell was selected as a Sasol New Signatures finalist (2016, 2017) and a Top 100 finalist for the ABSA L’Atelier (2018). Attewell was selected as a 2018 recipient of the Young Female Residency Award, founded by Benon Lutaaya.
In 2020, Attewell attended the SAFFCA (Southern Africa Foundation for Contemporary Art) residency in Knysna. From this residency came her solo exhibition, Sociogenesis: Resilience Under Fire (2020), held at Berman Contemporary in Johannesburg. Attewell’s work was showcased at the Contemporary Istanbul (2019, 2022) and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2018, 2021, 2022, 2023). Her latest solo exhibitions include RAIN SHADOWS, held at the UJ FADA Gallery (2023), and THE WEATHER REPORT PROMISED RAIN, held at Berman Contemporary and curated by Els van Mourik (2023).
CV:
Solo Exhibitions
2023 The Weather Report Promised Rain. Berman Contemporary. Curated by Els van Mourik.
2023 RAIN SHADOWS. UJ FADA Gallery, Johannesburg.
2020 SOCIOGENESIS: Resilience Under Fire. Berman Contemporary, Johannesburg. Curated by Els van Mourik.
2019 Substratum. Lizamore & Associates Gallery, Johannesburg
2018 Architectus Konstruksie. Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees (KKNK), Oudsthoorn, Western Cape
2018 Under Construction. Assemblage, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Young Birds Learn to Sing in Springtime, Artsy Viewing Room, presented by Berman Contemporary.
2023 Part 1: New Forms of Abstraction, Berman Contemporary. Curated by Els van Mourik.
2023 The Art of Textile Sustainability, Artsy Viewing Room, presented by Berman Contemporary.
2023 Reimagining: New Perspectives, Berman Contemporary, curated by Morgan Kunhardt.
2022 Making and Interpreting Art in 2022, SARChI Postgraduate Exhibition, curated by Dineke Van der Walt.
2022 Works on Paper, curated by Els van Mourik, Berman Contemporary, Johannesburg.
2022 Annual Summer Show, curated by Els van Mourik, Berman Contemporary, Johannesburg.
2022 WORK IN PROGRESS: Chrisél Attewell & Gina vd Ploeg. Berman Contemporary. Curated by Els van Mourik.
2021 ARTISTES DE LA TERRE: Chrisél Attewell & Barbara Schroeder. Berman Contemporary. Curated by Els van Mourik.
2021 Annual Winter Show: The Liminal Space, Berman Contemporary, curated by Morgan Kunhardt. Johannesburg.
2021 Making and Interpreting Art in 2021, SARChI Postgraduate Exhibition, curated by Dineke Van der Walt.
2020 Learning to Breathe Differently, Berman Contemporary, Curated by Els van Mourik, Johannesburg.
2019 ArtLadies, Berman Contemporary, Curated by Els van Mourik, Johannesburg.
2019 Collecting Contemporary, Lizamore Gallery, KKNK, Oudtshoorn.
2019 SAFFCA Group Exhibition, Gerhard Sekoto Gallery, Alliance Française, Johannesburg.
2018 Unsettled, ABSA Gallery, curated by Thabo Seshoka, Johannesburg.
2018 Talking to Deaf Ears, ABSA Gallery, curated by Sarah McGee, Johannesburg.
2017 Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards, Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre, Kempton Park.
2017 Young Capital – White Noise, Joburg Fringe, Curated by Mbali Tshabalala, Johannesburg.
2017 Sasol New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria.
2017 Fresh Produce, Turbine Art Fair, Curated by Rolihlahla Mhlanga, Johannesburg.
2017 My XXX, Innibos National Arts Festival, Curated by John-Anthony Boerma, Nelspruit.
2016 Sasol New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria.
2013 Hidden Urban Histories, Rembrandt Hall, University of Pretoria, Pretoria.
Collections
Ellerman House Collection
The African Arts Trust Collection
The Leonardo Buildling Collection
The ABSA Bank Collection
The Project Space Collection
Harrie Siertsema Personal Collection
South African Foundation of Contemporary Arts Collection
Quorum Properties Collection
Art Fairs
2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair. Berman Contemporary, Cape Town
2022 Contemporary Istanbul, Berman Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
2022 Investec Cape Town Art Fair. Berman Contemporary, Cape Town
2021 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Online, Berman Contemporary
2020 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Berman Contemporary and Christie’s, Online, London
2019 Contemporary Istanbul, Berman Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
2019 Turbine Art Fair, solo booth: Earth to earth, stone to stone, dust to dust
2018 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, The Project Space, Cape Town
2018 RMB Turbine Art Fair, Young Female Residency Award, The Project Space, Johannesburg
2017 RMB Talent Unlocked, Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg
Awards
2021 Special URC Award. University of Johannesburg, Postgraduate School
2018 ABSA L’atelier, Top 100
2018 Grant received from The African Arts Trust as part of the Assemblage Exhibition Programme
2017 Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards, top 100, Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre, Kempton Park
2017 Sasol New Signatures, finalist, mentioned in catalogue, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
Publications
2023 An experimental album and exhibition looks at the history and ecology of the Cape, Creative Feel, January 2023
2022 Sustainability In Art of Chrisél Attewell, Yashna Balwanth, TFG Media, October 2022
2022 A Matter of Contemporary Connections, ART TIMES, February 2022
2022 Collector’s Edition Cover – Chrisél Attewell, featured on the Opener and dust jacket of House & Leisure
2022 Works on Paper exhibition at Berman Contemporary allows for viewers to engage with the artists’ process of creating, Edward Tsumele, Feb 2022
2021 The 10 artists participating in The Liminal Space exhibition at Berman Contemporary test artistic limits, Edward Tsumele, Aug 2021
2020 Whispers of Inspiration, Bernie Hellberg Jr, Signature, May 2020
2019 Selections, Curated by Contemporary Istanbul, September 2019
2019 RMB Turbines Art Fair’s Potential to Challenge Traditional Arbiters of Taste, Nkgopoleng Moloi, Bubblegum Club, July 2019
2019 The Young Female Residency Award: Entrepreneurship and Arts, Art Africa, July 2019
2019 Art Africa, Countering Artybollocks – an exhibition curated by Bland&Boring, written by Tracy Murinik
2018 South African Art Scene: Artist using printmaking to explore Johannesburg’s architectural history, CGTN Africa
2018 Khuluma Magazine, Jozi’s Lost Pockets, written by Trevor Crighton
2018 Prestige Digital Magazine, Jo’burg’s Rebirth Documented as Art, written by Trevor Crighton
2018 SA Art Times, Sculpture Fair
2016 SA Art Times, University of Pretoria Graduate Exhibition
Residencies
2023 Bodhi Khaya Artist Residency, AirSA, Overberg, South Africa
2022 Work in Progress: An In-Situ Residency, Berman Contemporary, Johannesburg
2019 Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA), Residency at Entabeni Farm, Knysna
2018 Recipient of the Young Female Residency Award with The Project Space, founded by Benon Lutaaya
2017 Artist Career Development Programme, developed by Assemblage
Conferences, Presentations, and Papers:
2022 Notions of Disappearance in African Artists’ Response to Postcolonial Landscapes, Making and Interpreting Art in 2022, SARChI Postgraduate Conference in association with UJ, the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Innovation
2022 Artists’ Responses to Traces in the Postcolonial Traumatised Landscape. Spring Seminar 2022: Traumatic Landscapes, School of Arts, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in Association with CITAR (Research Center for Science and Technology of the Arts) and FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), Porto, Portugal.
2021 Circular economies in the artistic practices of Otobong Nkanga and Ibrahim Mahama, Making and Interpreting Art in 2021, SARChI Postgraduate Conference in association with UJ, the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Innovation
2019 A Womxn’s Work: Sculpting and Living. A discussion with Avi Soulful and Chrisél Attewell on the processes, practices, challenges and glories of being a (female) sculptor in South Africa. Turbine Art Fair Talks Programme Sponsored by RMB Private Bank
Education
2023 MA in Visual Arts, Cum Laude, University of Johannesburg
2016 BA in Fine Arts, Cum Laude, University of Pretoria