JP Meyer

JP Meyer is a visual artist with a unique flair for the narrative in the subject matter, colour, and execution of his paintings. His playful aesthetic, almost comical, has an underlying mythology or historical reference in every work. These mythological underpinnings are often much darker allegories for human experience mustered forth by the whisperings and writings of the ancients. They’re the present-day gods and saints, enfolded in bright acrylic paints and accompanied by symbolic companions to the main figure, not unlike toys that come with accessories. Humans are frequently accompanied by symbolic animals that elevate our understanding of their stories. His flat colour planes and faux naïf aesthetic are reminiscent of cartoons, of Pop Art from the 60s that offered a take on the visuals and subject matter of early advertising. It cuts to the core of our persisting need for engagement with stories and their protagonists. JP Meyer has exhibited at DAOR Contemporary on several exhibitions including Autumn 2021, group exhibition Winter 2021, and play play 2022.

Solo Exhibitions

2022
Residency Exhibition, Forster Gallery, Zanzibar

2021
Snakes and Ladders, Bland Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, USA

2020
Ink, Facebook

2019
Gods, Men and Monsters, The Toffee Gallery, Darling
Of Mice, Men and Dinosaurs, Facebook

2017
Wrong Archive, Alex Hamilton Studio Gallery, Cape Town

2014
Loopsand, Watershed, Prince Albert
Simulacrum, Breytenbach Gallery, Wellington

2016
Doop / Initiate, Woordfees, Stellenbosch

2010
Exchange, Prince Albert Gallery, Prince Albert

2008
Constant movement, Artspace@Granitas, Pretoria

2006
Repetition, Cultivaria Festival, Paarl

2003
Reflection, Association of Visual Art, Cape Town

Joint Exhibitions

2022
Play-Play, DAOR Contemporary, Cape Town with Carin Dorrington and Katja Abbott

2021
It’s [not] Black and White, Glen Carlou Gallery, Stellenbosch with Erika Suter

2020
Foyer Pots and other Foreign Fables, Gallery @ Glen Carlou with Carin Dorrington

2018
Painters’ Painters, Dawid Ras Gallery, Sandton with Matthew Brittan.

2017
Up Your Sleeve, Mok Gallery, Stellenbosch with Ingrid Bolton, Katie Barnard-du Toit, Noeleen Kleeve and Lene Ehlers.

2013
SOIL, Gallery Grande Provence, Franschhoek with Katie Barnard-du Toit, Anthony Shapiro and Gregor Rohrig.

2005
Stukkies, Artspace, JHB with Varenka Pascke and Cobus van Bosch

2004
Drie Skilders, KKNK, Oudtshoorn with Adriaan van Zyl and Philip Badenhorst

2003
Twee Skilders, KKNK, Oudtshoorn with Adriaan van Zyl

Group Exhibitions (Selected)

2022
BOLERO International Artproject on the move, Kyiv (Ukraine) and Kassel (Germany)

2021
Somewhere over the rainbow, Art and About, Johannesburg.
Winter + Autumn Exhibition, DAOR Contemporary, Cape Town

2020
Subsurface Scattering, GalleryONE11, Cape Town
Boys don’t Cry, Rust & Vrede Gallery, Durbanville
Art Night, Nel-on-Long, Cape Town

2019
Works on Paper, RK Contemporary, Riebeek Kasteel
Dwell in Possibility, Vrystaat Art Festival, Bloemfontein

2018
The Universe Next Door, Rossouw Modern, Hermanus
Kennis, Woordfees, Stellenbosch

2017
Cruel Cruel Summer, Gallery @ Glen Carlou, Stellenbosch
Dead and Dreaming (Still life), Priest Gallery, Johannesburg
Bolero, Eos Gallery, Athens, Greece
Instrumente van Vrede, Breytenbach Gallery, Wellington
To see the forest for the trees, US Museum, Stellenbosch

2016
Fear & Loss : Industrial Karoo, Khazimla, De Aar
Vernissage, MOOR Gallery, Franschhoek
The Salon, A.V.A., Cape Town
The Promise of Now, Gallery @ Glen Carlou, Stellenbosch

2015
Daaglikse Dosis, Clover Aardklop, Potchefstroom
Alfabeter, Woordfees, Stellenbosch
Industrial Karoo : Fear + Loss, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria

2014
Burger 100 Year Exhibition, Artscape, Cape Town
Industrial Karoo : Fear + Loss, Oliewenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein
Panorama, D-Street Gallery, Stellenbosch

2013
Moleskin Art + Design Project, KKNK, Oudtshoorn
Velvet, KKNK, Oudtshoorn

2012
I am an African, Grande Provence, Franschhoek

2011
New Identity, Grande Provence, Franschhoek

2010
Current Matters, Grande Provance, Franschhoek

2005
Finding You, AVA, Cape Town

2004
Brett Kebble Awards Exhibition, CTICC, Cape Town
Sasol New Signatures, PTA Art Gallery, Pretoria

2003
Brett Kebble Awards Exhibition, CTICC, Cape Town
Krisp, Art.B, Bellville

Collections

Hollards, Johannesburg, South Africa
Rand Merchant Bank, Johannesburg, South Africa
Sasol, Johannesburg, South Africa
Didata, South Africa
Nando’s, United Kingdom
McMillan Publishing, Johannesburg, South Africa