San-Mare Raubenheimer
ARTIST BACKGROUND
I am a fine artist originally from South Africa, now living in Sweden with my husband and two daughters. In 2006 I obtained a Bachelors degree in fine arts from the University of Stellenbosch and in 2008 a postgraduate certificate in Education. After teaching Art at a secondary school, I decided to pursued my career as a full time artist. We relocated to Sweden in 2012 where I recently resumed my career as a professional artist. Since 2016 I have participated in several group exhibitions in Sweden and South Africa.
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my art practice I strive to recreate the human form on a painted surface, while expressing the complex nature of the human condition. The content of my work captures intimate moments of human existence; those moments when a person is most vulnerable. The subject matters are stripped bare of any superfluous adornments and detail. I purposefully give little information concerning context in order to leave room for interpretation by the viewer and to focus attention on the subject. Without pretense, it reflects a culmination of memories, emotions, experiences and perceptions.
I intend to represent the body as true to life as possible. My obsession with the human skin as a conceptually loaded subject, as well as its visual appearance, strongly influences my choice in subject matter and artmaking process. Skin consists of many layers, covering a bone structure and blood vessels; with each new layer, evidence of the previous one is still visible. There is always more than meets the eye. In an attempt to achieve this translucent quality of skin, I apply oil paint in thin, almost transparent layers, which eventually builds up to mold and render the figure. To me, this process of painting with oils and the content of my work is intertwined.