TAMLIN BLAKE

(b. 1974 Johannesburg, South Africa)

Tamlin Blake is a professional multi-media South African artist. A central theme of Blake’s work is a concern with cross-cultural South African symbols of wealth and status. More recently she has become interested in what constitutes and underpins each individual’s sense of belonging and identity. She is influenced by her rural surroundings and the communities who live and work there. A prominent aspect of Blake’s work is her fascination with materials and manipulating new mediums in ways which take them past the merely decorative or prosaic. She was instrumental in developing beading techniques which are now used by various South African artists with the help of the bead studio Qubeka belonging to the Spier Arts Trust of which she is chief curator. Her own recent work consists of tapestries woven from re-cycled hand-spun newspaper.

Tamlin Blake holds a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the University of Stellenbosch. She has had nine solo exhibitions to date, the most recent being Tied by Time at CIRCA, Johannesburg (2019). She has also exhibited extensively in group shows nationally and internationally. Her work was included in the Synergy exhibition of contemporary bead art at Iziko Michaelis Collection (2005-06), the South African Art: Signs exhibition held at Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum in Bratislava (2007) and the Skin-to-Skin: Challenging Textile Art show, which formed part of the Kaunas Art Biennial TEXTILE 07 in Lithuania (2007). Her work was exhibited at the Spier Contemporary Exhibition (2008), included in the South African Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China and presented as a Spier Special Project at the FNB Joburg Art Fair in 2012. In 2003 she received the Brett Kebble Merit Award and in 2011 she was invited to the Frans Masereel Centre in Belgium for an artist's residency. Her work can be found in various corporate and public collections.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019     Tied by Time at CIRCA, Rosebank, Johannesburg

2015     Revelation: Stories and Secrets Disclosed, CIRCA, Rosebank, Johannesburg

2013       Altered Yarns Revisited, online exhibition at Out of the Cube

2012      Spier Special Project: Tamlin Blake, The FNB Joburg Art Fair,

Altered Yarns, Spier Wine Estate, Cape Town

2008      Private Spaces, Curious Whetstone and Frankly, Cape Town

2007      Birthright, Bell-Roberts Contemporary Art Gallery, Cape Town and 2008 Hollard Gallery Hall, Johannesburg

2005      Blood, Sweat and Tears, blank projects, Cape Town

2004      Change of Address, AVA, Cape Town

2001      Exploring Cremnophytes, Bang the Gallery, Cape Town

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015            FNB Joburg Art Fair, with Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

                    Summer Exhibition, Knysna Fine Art Gallery, South Africa

2013            Small Canvas Project, initiated by the Benetton Foundation and exhibited at Ca’ dei Carraresi, Treviso (2014);Museo Bilotti, Rome (2014) & the Venice Biennale (2015), Italy

                    SPI National Portrait Award, shown at various galleries in South Africa through 2014

2012            The 8th Definitive Series of Stamps, Iziko SA National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2010            South African Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, China

2009            Keepsakes, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

2008            Skin-to-Skin: Challenging Textile Art, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2007-8       Spier Contemporary 2007. Spier Wine Estate and Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa

2007            Skin-to-Skin: Challenging Textile Art. Kaunas Art Biennial TEXTILE 07, Kaunas, Lithuania

                     South African Art, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum. Bratislava, Republic of Slovakia

                     Portrait and Landscape, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Lourensford, Somerset West, South Africa

2006             2006, print exhibition, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2005-6         Synergy, Iziko Michaelis Collection, Cape Town, South Africa

2005            Shaping Place, Grande Provence Estate, Franschhoek, South Africa

                    Finding You, Collaborative work in clay, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

2004            11th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

                   Doring Dollies, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

                   Assemblage, Battersea Affordable Art Fair, London, UK

2003            Water Colour Society of Ireland  Annual Exhibition, Dun Laoighaire, Ireland. Botanical Art Exhibition, group show, Queen Victoria and Art Gallery, Tasmania, Australia

2002            Fruits of Desire, joint exhibition, The Metatron Art Gallery, Co. Wicklow, Ireland Water Colour Society of Ireland Annual Exhibition, Dun Laoighaire, Ireland

                   Red Dot Artists. Bartley Dray gallery, 62 Old Church St, Chelsea, London

2001            Botanical Art, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg

1998            Botanical Art, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, RSA

                   Succulents in Botanical Art, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, RSA