Collection: Jan Raats

Jan works from his studio at Kupenda Africa Gallery in the small Klein
Karoo town of Montagu in the Western Cape South Africa.


Drawing on his twenty years of experience as a humanitarian in some of
the most incredible places on earth, he harnesses the emotion of chaos
and conflict to capture unique stories on canvas His studio is an
opportunity to engage in the unforgettable conversations behind each
art piece, while observing his painting style, using only his fingers
to create vibrantly colourful Impressionistic images. Jarring angles
and intense colours give way to flowing curves and pockets of calm.
Capturing a moment, a feeling, an expression.

Covid has influenced his current body of work that incorporates
hand-cut repurposed plastic water bottle butterflies. Sustainable. The
growing urgency to protect our heritage. Taking inspiration from the
Abstract Expressionists, mark-making using plant material to create
abstract artworks.

Initially trained at the Johannesburg College of Art, he is a winner
of the 2023 Casa Del Arte Art Prize, Mallorca, Spain. A Top 10
Finalist at the Swiss Art Expo in Zurich in 2022, his Solo Exhibition
‘People and Places’ at Kupenda Africa Gallery in February 2024. He has
exhibited at the Imibala Gallery in Graaf Reinet; the Old Goal in
Knysna; and at SCAVA, in George. His work can be found in numerous
private and corporate collections, as well as at UN City, Copenhagen,
Denmark.