Elmarie Van Straten
Elmarie Van Straten works in a variety of media, often including neon lighting in her work, producing images from bead paintings, or dropping a ton of glitter onto the canvas. Van Straten has also exhibited three video works with DAOR Contemporary. Her work refers to popular culture, forming a critique of the way femininity is presented in media consumed by children of the 80s and 90s by the highly sexualized imagery of women, portrayed as powerful, seductive, and dominant. Interrogating the often facelessness dysmorphic qualities of women, even the sexualizing of underaged characters in animated shows aimed at children, created by adult men. The systemic underpinnings of cultural norms in that period bleed through into the lives of those adults and their identities today. Van Straten has participated in several group shows at DAOR Contemporary, including Autumn 2021, Winter 2021, and GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS 2022 and her solo exhibition Neither Here Nor There 2023.
Elmarie Van Straten, She-Ra, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on board, 94 x 64 cm, 2022
Elmarie Van Straten, Flutterina, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on board, 94 x 64 cm, 2022
Elmarie Van Straten, Catra, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on board, 94 x 64 cm, 2022
Elmarie van Straten, Yellow, 2021, glass beads on board, 18 x 18 cm
Elmarie van Straten, Pink, 2021, glass beads on board, 18 x 18 cm
Elmarie van Straten, Green, 2021, glass beads on board, 18 x 18 cm
Elmarie van Straten, Clouded Memory, 2021, glass beads on board, 80 x 80 cm
Elmarie van Straten, Dystopia, 2021, neon light and acrylic on board, 110 x 80cm
Elmarie van Straten, Still Awake, 2021, neon light and acrylic on board, 80 x 80 cm
Elmarie van Straten, Run, 2021, acrylic and neon light on board, 80 x 110cm
Elmarie van Straten, A Whole New World, 2021, Mixed media and neon light on board,110 x 80cm
Alternative Horizon 2023 Mixed media, neon light & bronze mirror on board 94,5 x 204 cm
Pegasus 2023 Risograph on Stephen 250gsm Edition of 30 31,5 x 42 cm
Roar 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 42 x 42 cm
Ochre waters 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 102 x 102 cm
It was all a dream 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 102 x 102 cm
Pink abstract 2023 Oil, spray paint & mirror on board 32 x 32 cm
Liminal 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 62 x 92 cm
Half Moon Cay 2023 Oil & spray paint on canvas 92 x 62 cm
Bubbles 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 62 x 92 cm
Cabo 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 95 x 71 cm
S P A C E 2023 Oil, spray paint & mirror on board 60 x 60 cm
Pegasus 2023 Oil, spray paint & mirror on board 60 x 60 cm
Labadie Pink 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 32 x 32 cm
Orange Abstract 2023 Oil & spray paint & mirror on board 32 x 32 cm
Blue Abstract 2023 Oil & spray paint & mirror on board 32 x 32 cm
Labadie Blue 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 32 x 32 cm
Labadie Green 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 32 x 32 cm
Green Abstract 2023 Oil & spray paint & mirror on board 32 x 32 cm
Here & There 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 102 x 102 cm
Portal II 2023 Mixed media & neon light on board 130 x 97 cm
Portal I 2023 Mixed media & neon light on board 130 x 97 cm
Easy Tiger 2023 Oil & spray paint on canvas 62,5 x 93 cm
Blue Totem II 2023 Mixed Media & neon light on board 59 x 94,5 cm
Blue Totem 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 63,5 x 94,5 cm
Pegasus 2023 Oil & spray paint on board 141 x 187,5 cm
Elmarie Van Straten is a visual artist based in Cape Town and has worked in the arts industry for the majority of her career as a curator, and arts administrator locally and internationally. She graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a Bachelor’s in Fine Art in 2004, and obtained a PGCE. Notably she has worked as a curator for the Spier Arts Trust, Park West Gallery, and Cur8.