Strijdom van der Merwe was born on June 2, 1961 and grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg. According to Stellenbosch Writers, he completed his fine arts degree in 1984 at Stellenbosch University and furthered his studies at Hooge School Voor de Kunste, Utrecht, Holland (where he studied print-making); The Academy of Art and Architecture and Design, Praha, Czech Republic and at The Kent Institute of Art and Design, Canterbury, England.
Since 1996 he has worked full time as a land artist.
Van der Merwe is a South African award-winning land artist who uses materials found on-site to create his work of art. His materials include sand, water, wood, rocks and stone.
Not only is Strijdom a sculptor, but he is a contemporary artist whose art, sculptures, limited edition prints, and art installations form part of art collections, art routes, sculpture parks, and residences internationally.
His sculptural forms take shape in relation to the landscape. It is a process of working with the natural world, using sand, water, wood, rocks etc.
These elements are used to shape geometrical forms that blend in with their environment, continually changing until their final probable destruction. Strijdom observes natural beauty around him, his art is transformed into a real-life photographic image and what some might call a fragment of the imagination.
Exhibitions and commissions on invitation were done in South Korea, Turkey, Belgium, France, Sweden, Lithuania, Japan, Australia, Germany, England the Netherlands and Italy. He held many personal exhibitions in various art galleries in past years and his work has been bought by numerous private and public collectors locally and abroad.
Sculpting This Earth
A new documentary feature film from director Victor van Aswegen, Sculpting This Earth, is currently in production. The filming was scheduled to be complete in December 2021. Over four consecutive seasons, artist Strijdom van der Merwe travels to remote locations in the southern African region to make beautiful land artworks in a striking range of spectacular natural settings.
Coming soon: releasing early 2022. If you would like to read more about the film, click here, or visit sculptingthisearthfilm.com.
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Picture: Strijdom van der Merwe