Artist Biography
Michelle Solomon is a Stellenbosch-based artist whose work blends realism with expressive, lyrical intensity.g and painting are conceptually driven, engaging with restraint, vulnerability, and suspension — the figure often held in a state of quiet psychological tension. Working with oil alongside ink, bleach, and charcoal, Solomon employs both additive and subtractive processes to build emotional weight and atmosphere.
Human and animal forms are approached as presences rather than portraits, while organic elements contribute to a symbolic dialogue that is both intimate and broadly resonant.
Artist Statement
In the Black Hound Series, a sequence of four works, Michelle Solomon employs the hound as a vessel through which interior states are embodied — a site of quiet reckoning associated with shadowed periods of experience.
Rendered in oil on rounded wood panels, the works are structured through a restrained orchestration of shadow and light, allowing luminosity to emerge selectively from dense fields of darkness. This treatment intensifies the emotional register of each piece, holding the subject in a state of suspension.
Across Exposure, Burden, and Surrender, the series traces a progression of interior states — from confrontation, to weight, to release — suggesting vulnerability as a presence held under pressure.
Selected Exhibitions
2025 (Forthcoming)
The Emergence of the Avatarial Self
Group Exhibition, Diane Victor Advanced Drawing Programme
The Emergence of the Avatarial Self
Group Exhibition, Diane Victor Advanced Drawing Programme
2025
Western Cape Portrait Award Exhibition — Top 40 Finalist
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville
Western Cape Portrait Award Exhibition — Top 40 Finalist
Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville
2025
Paul Birchall Studio Annual Exhibition
Gallery 196, Woodstock
Paul Birchall Studio Annual Exhibition
Gallery 196, Woodstock
2024
Paul Birchall Studio Annual Exhibition
Cape Town
Paul Birchall Studio Annual Exhibition
Cape Town
2017
Paul Birchall Studio Annual Exhibition
Alliance Française du Cap, Cape Town
Paul Birchall Studio Annual Exhibition
Alliance Française du Cap, Cape Town
Professional Development
2025
Advanced Drawing Workshop — Diane Victor
Muratie Farm, Stellenbosch
Advanced Drawing Workshop — Diane Victor
Muratie Farm, Stellenbosch
2025
Ink and Bleach Workshop — Di Metcalf
Ink and Bleach Workshop — Di Metcalf
2024
Painting Workshop Retreat — Mary Visser
Goedgedacht Farm, Riebeek-Kasteel
Painting Workshop Retreat — Mary Visser
Goedgedacht Farm, Riebeek-Kasteel
2024
Life Drawing Programme — Clerissa Visser
PJ Olivier Art Centre, Stellenbosch
Life Drawing Programme — Clerissa Visser
PJ Olivier Art Centre, Stellenbosch
Recognition / Awards
2026
Honourable Mention — Top 20 Painting & Other Media Artists
16th Figurative Art Exhibition
Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery, USA
Honourable Mention — Top 20 Painting & Other Media Artists
16th Figurative Art Exhibition
Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery, USA
2025
Arts to Hearts Project International Artist Award publication — 100 Emerging Artists of 2025
Arts to Hearts Project International Artist Award publication — 100 Emerging Artists of 2025