Art Piece: “Stratigraphy of Humankind”
Mapungubwe, the First Miners
Jo Roets is a distinguished sculptor, painter, and mould maker whose passion for art has been a lifelong journey. She calls her unique clay artworks ‘light relief sculptures’, crafted from self-drying natural stone clay, pushed to its limits to create delicate bass relief artworks. Using unconventional tools, Jo intricately scores the clay, allowing it to warp naturally, adding a unique touch to each piece.
Educated at PJ Olivier Art School and Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof, Jo further honed her skills with diplomas in Art Direction and Motion Picture Production Design.
In 2018, Jo’s work was selected for three prominent art competitions: Sasol New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum (finalist); Tollman Bouchard Finlayson Art Award Barrel Head Exhibition, Hermanus (finalist); and Vuleka, Art.B Gallery, Bellville (finalist).
She was announced as the winner of the inaugural StateoftheART Gallery Award in 2018. Her first solo exhibition was shown in 2019 at StateoftheART Gallery and her second solo in 2022 at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery. In 2021, Jo was announced as one of the Tollman Bouchard Finlayson Art Award winners as well as an awardee of the coveted international Sustainable Arts Foundation grant. Most recently, she was announced as one of Art.co.za’s Watchlist artists for 2024.
Her work has been exhibited at a wide variety of galleries including SMAC, StateoftheART, Lizamore & Associates, Rust-en-Vrede, GUS, Nel, Breytenbach Gallery, No End Contemporary, Mok Gallery, Galería Begbie & Coll and Galería F&deO and more. Apart from participating in gallery exhibitions, her work has also been exhibited at festivals and art fairs. These include, KKNK, Tulbagh Arts Festival, Hermanus FynArts Festival, US Woordfees and Affordable Art Fair UK. Roets’s work is featured in the book Clay Formes – A Survey of Contemporary Clay from South Africa.
View more of Jo’s world of art and explore her collection at Jo Roets’ website.
