Jaco van Schalkwyk

Biography
Jaco van Schalkwyk was born in 1981 in Benoni, South Africa,
where he was brought up in Jatniël, the religious community of the
Latter Rain Mission International.
The artist holds a BA degree in Historical studies at UNISA and
currently resides in Randburg, RSA.
Van Schalkwyk’s oeuvre of work, has been concerned with the idea of
the exotic and the symbolism of forests and islands. Exploring beyond
the surface of these places, the artist challenges our idea of ‘Utopia’
or ‘Paradise’ and questions the western notion that paradise is found
in the beauty of exotic places and / or ‘the other’.
The artist is an avid photographer of life around him including
people, landscapes, oddments and things that he encounters . His
artworks could be described as a collection of note, a Wunderkammer,
a ‘ Curiosity cabinet’ of oddments and items gathered on his travels
and immediate environment, but they are not just presented as
trophies. These items and images are carefully considered ,
reconfigured and manipulated, either in painted or physical
juxtapositions, to create a ‘ Teatro Mundi’- a theatrical reimagining of
his experiences as both omniscient recorder and subjective
participant.
Van Schalkwyk has participated in numerous exhibitions in South
Africa and abroad and is represented in several collections:
The Reserve Bank of South Africa, Barclays bank, RMB, the
University of Pretoria, the University of Johannesburg, the Pretoria
Art Museum, The William Humphreys Collection , the Spier
Collection and the Ellerman Collection.
The artist had six successful Solo exhibitions in recent years;”Just a
matter of Time” in 2012 , “I, John, am the one who heard and saw
these things” in 2013, “Eden” in 2015, “-arium” in 2017 , “ Smoke
and Mirrors” in 2021 and “ Corpus Naturae” in 2025.
In 2019 Van Schalkwyk participated in the 3 person exhibition “ A
Land I Name Yesterday “ and in 2023 the 2 person exhibition “ After
Nature”, he also presented solo projects “Arcadia” at the 2016 FNB
Jo’burg Art Fair and “ Nemora” at the 2018 Volta Art Fair in Basel,
Switzerland.
Van Schalkwyk was awarded the Sylt Foundation Artist residency at
the 2013 Absa L’Atelier Art Competition and has since been involved
with several International projects hosted by the Foundation. His
exhibition “ Corpus Naturae” were also awarded the best exhibition
prize at the Aardklop Festival in 2025.
The University of Johannesburg selected the artist in 2015 to attend
the 6th International Beijing Biennale in China where his work formed
part of the South African Group exhibition “ 20 – Art in the time of
Democracy”. More recently he has also been awarded the prestigious
Ampersand Foundation Residency in New York.
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Bibliography
Wussow, Indra. 2015, “ In search of an inner eden” Eden, exhibition catalogue, ABSA
Von Veh, Karen. 2017 “ Arium” . Jaco van Schalkwyk- arium publication, Barnard Gallery.