Bronwen FINDLAY (b. 1953)
Walking Elephant
1991
silkscreen
edition 12/30
size unknown
BIOGRAPHY
Bronwen Findlay was born in December 1953 and spent her childhood in KwaZulu-Natal. She matriculated in Pietermaritzburg and studied art at the Natal Technikon and the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal).
Her first teaching post was at Mansfield Boys’ High in Durban, and she went on to teach in the Education and Art departments of the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. Alongside her teaching, she has worked with various NGOs in both Durban and Johannesburg.
Throughout her career, she has maintained a consistent painting practice. Findlay’s first exhibition was held in 1977 at the Walsh Marais Gallery in Durban. Since then, she has held solo exhibitions at KZNSA Gallery, Elizabeth Gordon Gallery, and Tamasa Gallery in Durban, as well as Everard Read Gallery, David Krut, Gallery Two, and Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg.
One Thing Leads to Another, a solo exhibition of Findlay’s paintings ran at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein in 2025. This exhibition of mostly colourful and textured artworks was a review of 48 years of expressive painting by Findlay and visually showcased different eras of her life.
‘My work is informed by spaces I have lived in, places I have been to, things I collect, people I collaborate with,’ says Findlay. ‘I manipulate paint and colour in response to my subject matter. I like to think that “every picture tells a story” but that each painting exists as its own world. I try to find beauty in things which might seem insignificant or not of great importance, the ordinary or every day. I have painted domestic objects, which may be loaded with cultural connotations – a willow-patterned piece of crockery from my grandmother, enamel tin plates and mugs bought from trading stores. Textiles and cloth have also played an important role in my work. I was influenced by the embroidery and beadwork created by women from the Limpopo province and, for a time, beaded my paintings with dots of paint. Colour and decoration have always been an important aspect of my painting. This decorative manipulation of paint may also be seen in my more recent paintings of South African flora and fauna – while these works are hardly botanical, I hope that they capture a different reality.’
Findlay’s work is included in public and private collections in South Africa and abroad. In addition to her painting, she has worked collaboratively on printmaking and embroidery projects, and, more recently, on mosaic commissions based on her drawings and paintings.