Eben van der Merwe

Eben van der Merwe was born in Bloemfontein in 1932. He was a self-taught painter of landscapes, portraits, figures, still life and abstract pictures. His early work showed influence of Gregoire Boonzaier. He later moved toward non-figurative composition, rendered his scene in dark, rich colours, broken into segments in the manner of stained-glass.

In 1958 a founder member of the Bloemfontein Group. Moved to Johannesburg in 1961, where he worked as a typographer, a visualiser and a designer in advertising agencies, and as art director for the magazine section of Argus Group until 1970. Since 1976 a full-time artist, concentrating on painting and the design and construction of Dalle-de-Verre windows.

1966 travelled to the UK and Europe to study the design and construction of slab-glass windows. 1976 made a study tour of the UK and Europe. The intensity of Van der Merwe’s colour is a distinctive feature of his style: the use, particularly, greens and the counterpoint of vibrant red is not common in SA Painting.

Artwork of Eben van der Merwe exhibited at Crouse Art Gallery. Original art of more than 60 top South African Artists – Since 1999.