AVIWE PLAATJIE

Born in 1988, lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.
Aviwe Plaatjie is a painter and printmaker. He describes himself as a simple observer of his community, capturing his family, friends and neighbours in their everyday environment. He paints those intimate moments such as a conversation between two friends, a furtive pause on a staircase, the pleasure of leafing through a magazine or a solitary daydream staring out the window. Aviwe Plaatjie offers a peaceful vision of the inhabitants of Khayelitsha township where he lives. Time is suspended in his paintings, allowing for contemplation and attention.
The artist deploys elaborate backgrounds around his characters and pays particular attention to the details of domestic interiors, fabrics and textures. The references to music, clothing, film and literature are multiple, depicting a proud and uninhibited generation with globalized influences.
Aviwe Plaatjie is self-taught. He was introduced to drawing as a child by his mother. In 2010, he joined the Good Hope Arts Studios collective where he developed his practice. He also participates in the VANSA mentoring program where he learns printmaking techniques. Aviwe Plaatjie is a frequent visitor to the Cape Town art scene and participates in local exhibitions and workshops with various collectives while continuing to work in the studio.
In 2020 he was spotted by the Ebony / Curated gallery which organised his first solo show and presented him in London at the 1-54 fair. In 2021, he was exhibited by 31 PROJECT at Artissima in Turin and in 2022 in the gallery's space in Paris.




CURRICULUM VITAE
SOLO SHOWS
2021
Makwande, Ebony / Curated, Cape Town - South Africa
GROUP SHOWS
2022
Induku Entle Ikhiwa Ezizweni, L'éclat des ailleurs, 31 PROJECT, Paris - France
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Ebony / Curated, Cape Town - South Africa
2021
Artissima fair, 31 PROJECT, Turin - Italy
1-54 Contemporary Art Fair, Ebony / Curated, London - UK
African Galleries Now in Partnership with Artsy, Ebony / Curated,
Cape Town - South Africa
In [the] Loop, Group Show, Ebony / Curated, Cape Town - South Africa
2020
Latitudes Art Fair, online presentation with Ebony / Curated,
Johannesburg - South Africa
FNB Art Joburg, online presentation with Ebony / Curated,
Johannesburg - South Africa
In The Making, Associated Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town - South Africa
Home Is Where The Art Is, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa,
Cape Town - South Africa
2018
Committee choice Exhibition, Art B Gallery, Cape Town - South Africa
Cape Town - South Africa
Greatmore Thupelo Internation Workshop Exhibition,
Cape Town - South Africa
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Norval Foundation Homestead Collection, Cape Town, South Africa
WITH 31 PROJECT
FAIRS
2021
Artissima, Torino
EXHIBITIONS
2022
Induku Entle Ikhiwa Ezizweni, L'éclat des ailleurs