“I’m obsessed with imitation. To start with a broad generalisation, all painting is imitation. A rendition of stimuli, stuffed and displayed. Imitation is something I rejoice in, imitation is democratic.”

Fanie is a multimedia artist whose work often centers around recurring pop culture icons he admires. Painting another person is to him a very intimate experience and he hopes that his work respects this proximity. Born in Hermanus, Fanie grew up in the Garden Route and graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2016 with a distinction in studio work. He now lives and practices in Cape Town, predominantly painting in the figurative tradition, but making occasional forays into sculpture, installation, and performance. He has been in several group shows and his most recent solo show, Happy Birthday Jesus! at 99 Loop Gallery, garnering a noticeable degree of attention in the press.

Buys has been the recipient of several awards, including the Judy Steinberg Award for Painting in 2016 as well as a place in the Sanlam South African Portrait Awards Top 100 in 2015.

“There is a physicality of the paint on Fanie’s canvas and not just the making of the meaning of an image ’ I paint images I like’.”

- Hanneke Benade, Artist Mentor

Sepideh Mehraban

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