Donna McKellar
b. 1963
Fine Artist
Cape Town, South Africa
First and foremost I am a painter. For me, painting is a way to explore not just what I see, but what I feel – to express the shifting and layered nature of experience. I have often described my artistic style as Romantic Realism, a language of light, atmosphere, peace and emotional truth. In some periods though, I find myself embracing a more postmodern view of the world, one that acknowledges its fragmented, often paradoxical character.
This insight hasn’t replaced my Romantic Realism; it has deepened it. My serene, luminous landscapes have evolved to include layers of emotion and meaning that suggest what lies beneath the surface of humanity. A lonely isolated farmhouse, neglected but standing, still, despite the storms that have bullied it over the years. Life as a house. What remains constant is my fascination with how beauty and unease coexist, and how light can reveal both harmony and fracture, fragility and strength.
My paintings continue to reflect my life as it unfolds – always changing, a subject that refuses to sit still for a portrait.
Over the years I have been fortunate to see my work collected around the world, and represented by incredible galleries.
You can find my work at WALKER BAY MODERN ART in Hermanus, MANZART in Franschhoek, Fancourt, as well as a selection in my studio in Kalk Bay.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born 26 November 1963, Johannesburg South African Citizen
TWO ADULT DAUGHTERS, Taryn Grace and Mikaela Anne.
EDUCATION
1970 to 1976, Grade 1 to grade 7, Dunvegan Primary School, Edenvale, South Africa
1977 to 1978, Grade 8 to grade 9, Edenvale High School, Edenvale, South Africa
1979 to 1981, Grade 10 to grade 12, Johannesburg School for Art Music and Ballet, Parktown, South Africa
1982, Fine Arts Diploma course, Johannesburg Fine Art Technicon
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2025
RUST en VREDE TOP 40 PORTRAIT COMPETITION EXHIBITION.
INK BOX ART, Two Too To, Group Gxhibition.
2024
PRINCE ALBERT OPEN STUDIOS, Prince Albert
2023
RUST en VREDE TOP 100 PORTRAIT COMPETITION EXHIBITION.
2022
ZOOM IN, Group Exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery.
2021
FOUR ARTISTS another exhibition, The Studio @6 on Dalebrook
UNTETHERED, The Studio @6 on Dalebrook, GROUP EXHIBITION
RUST en VREDE TOP 40 PORTRAIT COMPETITION EXHIBITION.
2020
A STILL LIFE RE-IMAGINED, AVA Gallery Cape Town, Group Exhibition.
UNPETRIFIED, Studio Art Gallery, Simonstown. (Cancelled due to COVID lockdown)
NEXT TIME IN PARIS, Group Exhibition, Dalebrook Studio, Kalk Bay.
2019
FROM A DISTANCE, Solo exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery Simonstown
ART SOUTH AFRICA, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town
ECO LOGIC, Group exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery Simonstown, Artists for Nature
MANDELA DAY, Group exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery, Simonstown
WINTER LIFE, Group exhibition, The Studio Art Gallery, Simonstown
STUDIO COLLECTIVE, Group Exhibition, The Studio @ 6 on Dalebrook, Kalk Bay
2018
FOODBARN ART AUCTION, Noordhoek, Cape Town
2017
BETWEEN THE SEA AND ME, Manzart, Franschhoek
CITE des ARTS, Group Exhibition, Tank Gallery, Stellenbosch
2016
OPEN STUDIO, Cite des Arts International, Paris
WHAT HAPPENED IN PARIS, Allderman Gallery, Cape Town
2015
THE ART OF WORKING SHIPS, Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London
RE-M-EMBER 6900 HECTARES, ArtVark, group exhibition
HERMANUS FINE ARTS FESTIVAL, group exhibition
FANCOURT, Hall of Fame
2014
GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUL, group exhibition, The Studio Kalk Bay
SKULDUGGERY, group exhibition curated by Donna McKellar, The Studio Kalk Bay
THE ART OF OBJECTS, The Studio Kalk Bay, curated by Gill Allderman, The Studio Kalk Bay
2013
LANDSCAPES OF THE SOUL, a dual show with Arno Carstens, The Studio Kalk Bay
TOM WAITS FOR NO MAN, group exhibition curated by Gordon Froud, UJ Art Gallery, Gallery Grande Provence, Johannes, Stegman Gallery Bloemfontein
DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSION, group exhibition, The Studio Kalk Bay
2012
ANGELS 7, annual Christmas exhibition, Gallery Grand Provence, Franschhoek
LIFE AS A HOUSE, Solo exhibition, Gallery Grande Provence Franschhoek
2011
ANGELS 6, annual Christmas exhibition, Gallery Grand Provence, Franschhoek
HABITAT, exhibition with Brahm van Zyl, opened by Claire Menck, Gallery Grande Provence, the Cathedral, Franschhoek
2010
DOUBLE VISION, with Derric van Rensburg, RED! The Gallery, Cape Town
UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS, group exhibition, Junction Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Group exhibition, Junction Art Gallery opening exhibition.
OPENING EXHIBITION, group show, Cedar Tree Gallery, Rodwell House, Cape Town.
ANGELS 5, annual Christmas exhibition, Gallery Grand Provence, Franschhoek
2009
Exhibition with Gavin Rain at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town.
2008
3D’s, Group exhibition with Derric van Rensburg, David Kuijers, RED! The Gallery, Cape Town.
Exhibition with Leonie E Brown at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town.
2007
Group exhibition at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town
Group exhibition at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town
2006
Group exhibition at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town
2005
Group Exhibition at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town
exhibition with Derric van Rensburg at RED! The Gallery, Cape Town
2004
Solo exhibition at The Clocktower Gallery,Cape Town
2003
Group exhibition Kosmos Art Gallery, Hartebeespoort, Johannesburg
1997
Exhibition with Derric van Rensburg, Hout Bay Gallery, Cape Town