WARREN MAROON

BIOGRAPHY

MAROON, WARREN, COURTESY OF CAPE GRACE (PHOTOGRPAHER CRAIG FRASER) MED RES B&W
WARREN MAROON
(b. 1985 Cape Town, South Africa)
 

Warren Maroon is a South African artist based in Cape Town. His upbringing on the Cape Flats in a suburb called Mitchell's Plain exposed him to the harsh realities of gangsterism, drugs, and violence, leading him to turn to art as a form of refuge.

In 2011, Maroon graduated from Ruth Prowse School of Art, but it wasn't until 2018 that he found his artistic voice as a conceptual sculptor. Drawing inspiration from the Arte Povera movement, Maroon creates sculptures using mostly found objects to communicate his lived experience.

Maroon's work is a testament to the power of art as a means of expression and resistance. Through his sculptures, he challenges dominant narratives and gives voice to those who have been silenced. His work is deeply personal, yet it speaks to universal themes of inequality, marginalization, and resistance.

Maroon's sculptures are a visual representation of his lived experience, using the detritus of everyday life to create something beautiful and meaningful. His work invites the viewer to reflect on their own experiences and to consider the societal structures that shape our world. Through his art, Maroon is not only creating beautiful objects but is also contributing to a larger conversation about social justice and equality. His work was acquired by the Iziko South African National Gallery in 2024. In 2026 he was awarded the Investec Emerging Artist prize. 

 
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
 
2026          The Handshake’s Not Worth the Grip, Everard Read, Cape Town, SA
2025          Between us, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read, Cape Town, SA
2023          Well, there goes that dream, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
2022          Reverence, Church Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
                  A Quiet Violence, CUBICLE Series, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
2020          Living in a Box, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa
 
 
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
 
2026          Lost and Found - In Translation, Glen Carlou Gallery, Stellenbosch, SA
                  Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read, Cape Town, SA
2025          EXPO CHICAGO, with Everard Read, Chicago, USA
                  Journey Mercies, Ebony/Curated, Cape Town, SA
2024          Soil, curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa, Hazendal Festival, Stellenbosch, SA
                  Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Church Projects & Everard Read, Cape Town, SA
                  EXPO CHICAGO, with Everard Read, Chicago, USA
                  Winter, Everard Read, Cape Town, SA
                  FNB Art Joburg, with Church Projects, Johannesburg, SA
2023          The Objects, curated by Sean O’Toole, Under Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
                  Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Church Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
                  The Invisible Thread, curated by Swain Hoogervorst, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa
2022          Ex Libris, curated by Barbara Wildenboer, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa
                  Seduction, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
2021          In Conversation, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
2020          Kwaai Vol. 2, Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town, South Africa