Michèle Nigrini

Michèle attracted nationwide interest in 1994 when the Rupert Art Foundation bought all of the available work on her first Solo Exhibition, including her Master’s degree installation ‘Kleursimfonie’, an extraordinary piece consisting of 300 A4 sized paintings. The installation is currently in the permanent collection of the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch and is exhibited every few years. This once in a lifetime event launched her career as a professional artist.

Michèle’ holds the following qualifications from the University of Pretoria: BA (Fine Arts), BA Hons (History of Art), MA (Fine Arts), and her career has included:

  • 22 solo exhibitions, more than 200 group exhibitions, Art Festivals 
  • International Projects including Ukkasie 2000, the Florence Biennial, Italy 2005, Chianciano Biennial, Italy 2009 and, by invitation, the London Biennial 2013, residency at the Cite des Arts 2017
  • Lectures and workshops
  • Commissions for corporates
  • Documentary installations
  • Audio and Visual stage productions
  • Animation films for Filmverse I & 2

Michèle believes that art is a medium for the elevation of the spirit yet remains rooted in the experience of everyday life.  Her aim is not to copy nature, but to translate the essential character of things, and suggesting a new way of interpreting the everyday. Her approach is based on visual sensations, and mark making is the most fundamental element in her art – a scratch of charcoal, a line of ink, a splash of colour, is how she expresses emotion, movement, the essence of her theme. She plays with different mediums, draws with different objects. The outcome is never predictable, and the theme is always just a starting point to highlight the extraordinary in the ordinary. 

Since 2004, Michèle has been living and working in Rosendal in the Eastern Free State where her work is on permanent display at ark.contemporary.  She also has a presence in several other galleries in Gauteng and the Western Cape. 

www.art.co.za/michelenigrini
www.michelenigrini.co.za
michelenigrini@gmail.com

Selected works


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Title: Bedtime Stories
Mixed media on wooden canvas
100cm x 100cm x 5cm

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Peppery Nose
Mixed media on Hahnemuhle paper
Framed 60cm x 60cm

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Fight for your Fairytale
Mixed media on wooden canvas
60cm x 60cm x 4cm

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Chain Reaction
Mixed media on wooden canvas
80cm x 80cm x 4cm

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Scherzi Series III
Mixed media on wooden canvas
120cm x 120cm x 5cm

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A Handful of kisses from the sky
Mixed media on wooden canvas
100cm x 80cm

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