Izak Buys biography:
Izak Buys was born in Windhoek, Namibia in 1992. Buys is a multi-disciplinary artist, with technical proficiency in, drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, videography and installation. He places great importance on the role of the medium in communicating his artworks’ message. He has thus innovated the use of many new mediums and methods, as he explores materials ability to hold and communicate meaning.
Buys predominantly works with the medium of pyrography – scorching, scraping, cutting and building wood based art pieces. For Buys his creative processes reflect the processes of individual and collective memory – the various tools he uses leave their own marks and residues, some permanent while others more transient – can be lost or buried.
Buys’ newest works in which he paints onto webs hand-woven over frames, further explores ideas of collective memory and interconnectedness. Drawing from sources as diverse as Neuroscience and ancient spiritual texts, Buys engages with and reveals the patterns that connect people across time and space.
He graduated with a Fine Arts degree at the University of Pretoria. He has won various awards and has been in various exhibitions. This includes being winner of the Basil Read Construction Company, Living Sculpture competition 2012, winning second prize in Kumba Iron Ore’s BEE procurement in mining competition 2012, a merit award at the Thami Mnyele Fine Arts competition in 2014 and overall winner of the 2014 Hello Ambassador Design Conference Competition.
He exhibited in the Pyromancers portfolio showcase at the Lizamore and Associates gallery in 2015. He also exhibited in the Pan-African Absa Ate’lier top 100 exhibition 2015, the #Selfie exhibition at Lizamore and Associates gallery 2016 to name only a few.
He is represented in The Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (S.A.F.F.C.A.) collection. Izak also has work experience at both Resolution Gallery and Lizamore and Associates gallery in Johannesburg.
Izak Johannes Matthys Buys
Curriculum Vitae
Contact Information:
Cell: 083 2566 065
Email: Izakjmbuys@gmail.com
Personal Details:
Date of birth: 16/09/1992
Nationality: South African
Languages: English and Afrikaans
Education:
Matriculated from The King’s School Robin Hills 2011, with 5 IEB distinctions including 86% in Visual
Arts and 99% in Maths Literacy.
Head Boy 2011.
Accepted in Golden Key Society 2012-2013
Graduated B.A. Fine Arts at the Department of Visual Arts, University of Pretoria, in 2015 with a 74%
aggregate.
Have a diploma in Art Therapy through Renaissance Life Therapies
Work Experience:
Interned at Resolution Gallery in Rosebank, Johannesburg under Ricardo Fornoni
Worked as freelance illustrator for Health Society of South Africa
Held a part-time post as Junior high art teacher 2016 and senior high art consultant at the King’s School
Robin Hills 2014-2016.
Worked as a primary school and high school level rugby coach
Taught Grade 10-12 Mathematical Literacy and Visual Arts at Covenant College for the later part of 2016
Taught Grade 8-12 Visual Arts at Covenant College (IEB), as acting head of the Visual Arts department in 2017. (In which time the matric average increased by 17%)
Teaching Grade 8 History and Grade 8-12 Visual Arts at Covenant College (IEB), as acting head of the Visual Arts department in 2018
Worked as a High School Visual Arts tutor in GDE, IEB and Cambridge systems from 2015-2018
Facilitated private kiddie’s art, music and movement classes in 2017
Facilitated private adult art classes in 2017
Manager and owner of The Phoenix Nest – Sophiatown -arts and music, studio house in 2018
Manager and owner of The Phoenix Nest B&B – Sophiatown – the fully furnished contemporary and antique art and furniture guest suite in 2018
Manager of the Lizamore and Associates – Artscape, Executive guest suite Airbnb and social media accounts in 2018
Awards:
Received merit award for matric final art piece in National IEB Art Competition 2011
Winner of the Basil Read Construction Company, Living Sculpture competition 2012
Won second prize in Kumba Iron Ore’s BEE procurement in mining competition 2012
Won a painting merit award at the Thami Mnyele Fine Arts competition in 2014
Won the Lizamore and Associates Mentorship Programme portfolio showcase through the Thami Mnyele
Fine Arts competition in 2014.
Was overall winner in the Hello Ambassador Design Competition and Awards in 2014
Solo Exhibitions:
Held a solo exhibition at Lizamore and Associates Gallery, titled The Pyromancers in 2015
Group Exhibitions:
Exhibited in the National IEB Art Competition 2011
Exhibited in the Hidden Urban Histories Exhibition, at University of Pretoria 2013
Exhibited in a print exhibition curated by Diane Victor and Gordon Froud, at Art Lovers Gallery 2013
Exhibited in the international Photocopy Club Show 2014
Exhibited in the After the Storm group exhibition at Resolution gallery 2014
Exhibited in the After the Storm II group exhibition at Resolution gallery 2014
Exhibited in the Voices Against Xenophobia pop-up exhibition 2015
Exhibited in the Conversations in Progress exhibition at the Anton van Wouw House 2015
Exhibited in the Seven Deadly Sins exhibition at Trent Gallery 2015
Exhibited in the Pan-African Absa Ate’lier top 100 exhibition 2015
Exhibited in the #Selfie exhibition at Lizamore and Associates gallery 2016
Exhibited in the Common Ground exhibition at Trent Gallery 2017
Exhibited in the Surfaces exhibition with Carol Lee art at Bamboo Gallery 2017
Part of the SAFFCA – Southern African Foundation For Contemporary Arts- exhibition booth at the 2018 Investec Cape Town Art Fair
Collections:
Part of the SAFFCA – South African Foundation For Contemporary Arts – private collection. With the work Creating/ Destroying a Palimpsest, 2014, Pyrography, wood, 76 x 122 cm, as photographed for the collection by Pierre Lombart
Part of Thabo Mbeki’s private collection with the work Run, 2013, Pyrography, wood
Character and work references:
-Jenni Joubert (The King’s School Robin Hills)
0829302611
-Susan Widd (The King’s School Robin Hills)
0824561173
-Teresa Lizamore (Lizamore and Associates Gallery)
0826514702
-Brian du Preez (Covenant College)
0833979313
