Google Lionel Smit and the results that pop up are immediate and prolific, very impressive, grand even. Those au fait with A-listers in the world of South African art will know Smit’s work.

Exciting then, that on May 3, Lionel Smit’s latest work comes to the Knysna Fine Art Gallery in an exhibition called Shift.

Lionel Smit is a South African artist, known for his contemporary portraiture executed through large canvases and sculptures. He has lost count of how many exhibitions he has had and his work can be found all over the world including in prestigious private and public collections.

Cover photo of Lionel Smit by Coetzer Cooke

If you walk on Garden Route beaches, you will know that Robberg Beach, Lookout Beach, and for that matter all our beaches, never look the same, not even twice, nor does one beach have the same temperament as another.

The water changes colour constantly; the waves are either peaceful or powerful; currents merge and part, flow and shift, and the sea is in a constant state of flux. It is really quite miraculous.

This phenomenon is one that only a very talented and accomplished artist could hope to capture.

South African master landscape painter, Walter Voigt, has done just that with a new series of oil on canvas paintings focusing on seascapes. Voigt is a full-time artist and until now is best known for his breathtaking landscapes, cityscapes and dramatic cloudscapes.

Voigt will be having an exhibition at Knysna Fine Art, opening on May 3, 2025, called Changing Tides.

At a time when the world is literally in a mess, when we humans are bombarded at every turn with war and sadness, there has never been a better time for an art exhibition that offers an escape into the magic and healing powers of Mother Nature.

Poetry of The Earth is a grand exhibition that opened on March 22 at Knysna Fine Art. Select and important South African artists, who work in different genres and mediums, were given a theme and each one of their art pieces is a unique interpretation of it.

Among the 50 participating artists from all over South Africa are important names like Phillemon Hlungwani, Norman O’Flynn, Jaco Benade, Jaco Schalkwyk, Nhlanhla Nhlapho, Andrew Mogridge, Arabella Caccia and Cobus Haupt. There is painting, sculpture, ceramic, drawing, etching and mixed media – a glorious trove of art – on show at this exhibition.

Cover Image: The Unknown Girl by Jaco Benade, oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm

I can feel the scrunch of sand under my feet, I can smell the mist coming over the sea, it feels like I can reach out and touch the cow lying in all serenity and trust on the beach right in front of me. I am lost for words, as I gaze into this work of art that is profoundly real, visceral even.

Never has the expression a picture paints a thousand words been truer than in the work of celebrated South African photographic artist Daniel Naudé. On February 8, a solo exhibition SEEING IS BELIEVING Glancing Back opened at Knysna Fine Art. It’s an important collection of his most defining photographs spanning the years 2008 to 2019.

Richard John Forbes is an internationally-known multi-disciplinary artist with a central focus on sculpture. This month, from February 8, his work goes on show at Knysna Fine Art in a collaboration with renown sculptor Wilma Cruise. The exhibit is named Scorched Earth – A Conversation.

Forbes is unique in that he has the unique ability to use natural materials from wood to iron to stone and any other discarded matter that spark his curiosity which he then fashions into thought-provoking sculptures from small rose quartz pieces to massive garden and land art. He has also made his mark on the planet as a versatile artist who has pretty much put his hand to the gamut of his profession from restoring buildings, to drawing, print, to film and even making theatre sets.

South African sculptor and visual artist Wilma Cruise is a force to be reckoned with. She turns 80 in February 2025 and is an inspiration, not only through her work which has garnered recognition world-wide, but in the way she lives her life... This month, from February 8, Her work goes on show at Knysna Fine Art in a collaboration with sculptor Richard John Forbes. The exhibit is named Scorched Earth – A Conversation.   

An exhibition of paintings by Weyers du Toit, whose formal compositions and use of colour reflect a deep admiration for the classical painters Rembrandt, Hals, Caravaggio, Goya and Velázquez, runs at the Knysna Fine Art gallery. Called "Into the Gilded Garden" the exhibition will run at the gallery until mid-January.

Lucinda Mudge is an internationally celebrated ceramicist, a world-renown contemporary artist, whose vases, and now paintings, live in bespoke spaces all over the world – and she hails from Knysna.

We are thrilled to have on loan Wim Botha's important work, "Time Machine" (2012) in our gallery for the next few months.

Knysna Fine Art will celebrate a 21-year-long relationship with mixed media artist Hannalie Taute with the opening of a solo exhibition of Ms Taute’s work in March, 2024.