JP MEYER

Colour is the primary language for JP Meyer, a Porterville-based artist whose acrylic paintings are a whimsical mix of contemporary culture, ancient mythologies, and the playful energy of comic strips and colouring books.

Since his first solo exhibition at the Association of Visual Arts in Cape Town in 2003, he has held 14 solo shows, 13 joint exhibitions, and participated in numerous group exhibitions. His work is held in the collections of SASOL, DIDATA, Rand Merchant Bank, Hollards, Nandos UK, and McMillan Publishing.

He wants viewers to project their own stories onto the canvas. If they can find their own meaning within the work and do so with fun and enchantment, then he is happy. He works with acrylics for their saturated punch and rapid drying time, which allows him to layer and refine values and hues until the image clicks. Rather than starting with a predetermined narrative, he builds the paintings through a push-and-pull of colour, volume, and space, letting the final result emerge as a surprise.

His work draws from contemporary culture, classical and suburban mythology, childhood bric-a-brac, and the playful energy of comic strips and colouring books. His studio is not a fixed coordinate with four walls, a north-facing window, and art equipment. It is more like a living organism. Every day he returns to the studio and steps into a room that has absorbed all his previous endeavors and thoughts, making space for the artist that he will be that day.