David Brits (Cape Town, 1987)is an award-winning artist whose experimental métier isdedicated to investigations in public-scale sculpture.He graduated from the MichaelisSchool of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town in 2010.Over the past four years,he has devoted his practice to formal investigations in public-scale sculpture. Equallyenergised by material exploration and archival investigation, Brits’ practice also spansinstallation, print-making, drawing and film.
Recent major public sculpture commissions include the Desmond Tutu HIVFoundation, The Speir arts Trust and the Iziko South African National Gallery. He isthe winner of the Rupert Art Foundation’s inaugural Social Impact Arts Prize.
Brits’ recent solo exhibitions includeTime is a Flat Circleheld in 2022 at MOVARTGallery, Lisbon;Sketches for the Cathedral of Johannesburg, held in 2016 at HAZARDGallery in Johannesburg,andSnake Man, at SMITH Gallery, Cape Town, in 2015.
In 2014, Brits was awarded a residency at the St. Moritz Art Academy, Switzerland,where he was mentored by Marcel van Eden and Daniele Buetti. Recent group showsincludeMaterialityat the IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town,Wordscurated by Willem Boshoff at the Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg,Nevermind theM*ssat A SPACE, Helsinki,Kindergeburtstag, held at the Cité Internationale des Arts,Paris. His work has featured in the academic journal Graduate Research and Reviewsin the History of Art and Visual Culture (2015) and has been named as a “young artistto watch” by the South African Art Times.
Moreover, his work is housed in public and private collections inboth South Africaand abroad. He is a recipient of the Golden Key Society Award for Visual Art, the IrmaStern Scholarship and the Barbara Fairhead Prize.
