ARTIST Christa Myburgh
For me, most of the time women are the main subject of my paintings. I want to show their vulnerability and sensivity as well as challenging circumstances they might have to deal with.
Christa Myburgh was born in 1972 in South Africa and studied Fine Art at the University of Pretoria. Her favourite subject was life figure drawing with Carl Jeppe and ever since she has been fascinated with the representation of the human form in art. She later took up a position as lecturer in life figure drawing at the University in Bloemfontein.
Christa grew up in the small town of Bethal in Mpumalanga, South Africa, and eventually ended up staying there again for a few years after she completed her studies.
While living there, she built up friendships with some of the girls working in the local stores. Since Myburgh mostly focusses on the representation of the figure, they became ideal models and she became familiar with their aspirations as young South African women. She dressed them for painting purposes in her ballet dresses since she was fascinated with ballet and also had ballet classes from a very young age.
During these days a monument was erected in her hometown for a woman called Nokuthula Simelane, which was an activist during the apartheid era. From time to time Christa adds line drawings of this specific sculpture to her carefully painted figures and use Nokhutula as reference. She was a young woman who was wrapped up in uncertain and uncomfortable situations but proved to be brave and persistent in her believes. Christa’s wish for young women is to live and fulfil their dreams, especially the ones living in remote areas like her hometown.
Christa moved to Cape Town in 2015. She continued to focus on the representation of the human form in her art and subsequently had a solo show in 2018. Myburgh has been participating in various group exhibitions and has been shown in established galleries. Her sense of perfection and style has found her sincere art collectors and followers around the world.