LOT 93: Johan Louw Stegmann – Feminist in Modernist Post

Johan Stegmann is known for highly detailed charcoal drawings & etchings in a classical (euro-centric) style, with a subversive twist. His work offers mash-ups of different periods in history that contain colliding identities, ideologies and perspectives. Stegmann embraces his identity, especially as fertile ground for performative exploration, as seen in his installations, public engagements, and video works. Stegmann’s work indulges a problematic voice to the point of becoming something else: a paradox that is not a contradiction.

Stegmann is a visual artist and qualified mechanical engineer based in Johannesburg CBD. His exposure to art began in 2011 working in the studios of Louis Olivier and William Kentridge. Through this process, he has developed his artistic career with solo and group shows around South Africa, listing as a finalist in various competitions. Stegmann is an alumni of mentorship programs such as RMB Talent Unlocked, and the Meta Foundation’s The Problem with African Art Is… project. He has completed residencies with Modern Art Projects in Richmond, and Intaglio Studio in Cape Town. Stegmann’s solo shows have taken place in museums (Ncome Monument), commercial galleries (Everard Read and Circa Gallery) and art festivals (KKNK 2023, Aardklop 2021 – the first contemporary artist to exhibit inside the Voortrekker Monument).