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