Anna van der Ploeg (b. 1992) is a South African artist whose professional practice is far-reaching, including but not limited to painting, printmaking, and sculpture, seeking to probe notions of performativity, concealment, and tenderness in social relations. Though the catalyst to her work is loosely conceptual, her process is labour-intensive, perceptive, and specialised. As a figurative artist, she searches for new metaphors to convey insights about our common assemblies, to find rhythms in the motion of social, artistic, and intellectual contexts. Van der Ploeg is an accomplished printmaker who has undertaken residencies in Brussels, France, India and Japan, where she worked with Mokuhanga – a water-based woodblock printmaking technique. This ancient technique lends itself to many layers of colour – creating depth while preserving subtlety. In addition to her technical expertise and precision, Van der Ploeg delves into psychological and subconscious narratives, unveiling tensions, internal struggles and the subversive conflict in the normalcy of the real.
Omens in hot bacon contradiction is the artist’s second exhibition at David Krut Gallery, opening in Johannesburg in May. Her New York debut exhibition follows in June, both showcasing the artist’s extraordinary large-scale etchings and painterly prints made over three years in collaboration with DKW collaborator Roxy Kaczmarek.