Still life with watermelons and other things, 1985
Oil paint on board, 242.5 x 180.5 cm
Rembrandt van Rijn Art Foundation, Stellenbosch

Penny Siopis was born in Vryburg in the Northern Cape. She studied at the University of Rhodes where she obtained her M.A. degree in Fine Art, and in England. Her subject matter include interiors, still-life and scenes portraying and commenting on social, gender and racial issues through referencing history, memory and sexuality. Her earlier works were predominately in oil, pastel and mixed media in a heavy textured and colourful style, and more recent work include photography, film/video and installations.

Siopis lectured at the Natal Technikon as well as at the University of the Witwatersrand, she also spent time in Paris, at the Cité Internasionale des Arts. Today she is an Honorary Professor at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town.

Various collections with Penny Siopis works:

Afrox (Johannesburg), Anglo American Corporation (Johannesburg), BHP Billiton, The Chase Manhattan Bank Art Collection (New York), The Constitutional Court of South Africa Durban Art Museum, Gencor (Johannesburg), Johannesburg Art Gallery, King George VI Art Gallery (Port Elizabeth), MTN collection, Museum of Modern Art (Stockholm), Nedcor (Johannesburg), Peter Stuyvesant Collection (Amsterdam), Pretoria Art Museum, Rhodes University (Grahamstown), Sandton Collection, SASOL Collection, SABC (Johannesburg), South African National Gallery (Cape Town), Standard Bank Collection (Johannesburg), Trust Bank (Johannesburg), University of the Free State, University of the Witwatersrand Art Galleries (Johannesburg), UNISA (Pretoria), William Humphreys Art Gallery (Kimberley) and World Bank (Washington DC).

Read more on Penny Siopis on STEVENSON