• Anton Smit, South African . B. 1954

    Anton Smit

    South African . B. 1954

    Widely revered for his overwhelming heads and monumental african sculptures, evoking themes of suffering, reconciliation, glory and sublimation, his works grace public and private collections countrywide and internationally.

    “Spoken verse, the echoes of emotive lyrics and the rasping of sculptures in progress are customary sounds emitted from his studio. Larger than life, Anton Smit is the embodiment of poetry, an apt term for this sculptor, derived from the term “making”.

  • THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A SOUTH AFRICAN SCULPTOR

    Smit began exhibiting art in 1976 in South Africa In 1979 he won the South African Association of Arts' New Signatures competition.His first solo exhibition in 1980 was held at the Beuster Skolimowski Gallery in Pretoria, South Africa with further local exhibitions throughout the 1980’s.

    The first international exhibitions of Smit’s work were held in 1991 in Rome and Milan, and at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoletto, Italy, followed by solo exhibitions at Sweeguan Art Gallery, Singapore in 1993 and Omni Gallery, New York in 1994.

    His work was exhibited at the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela 1994 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.

    In 2003 he established the Anton Smit Sculpture Park at Bronkhorstspruit dam, South Africa.

    Throughout the 2000’s until present, Smit continues creating new works and exhibiting internationally. 

     

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  • “I like to imbue my work with an illusion of movement or gesture, bodies curling up or limbs reaching out...
    “I like to imbue my work with an illusion of movement or gesture, bodies curling up or limbs reaching out to the onlooker, a call to movement. Some observers have noted that this is why so many of my pieces, even the most abstract ones, manage to communicate powerfully and emotionally. My sculptures and art are possessed with a raw, earthy power that feels innately African.” - Anton Smit 

  • Large Scale

    • Anton Smit, Collosal Youth - Monumental, 2022

      Anton Smit

      Collosal Youth - Monumental, 2022
      GRP
      470 x 167 x 80 cm
    • Anton Smit, The Burning Man , 2021

      Anton Smit

      The Burning Man , 2021
      GRP
      241 x 121 x 62 cm
    • Anton Smit, Faith - 3M with Loincloth, 2022

      Anton Smit

      Faith - 3M with Loincloth, 2022
      GRP
      318.5 x 242 x 86 cm
  • During 1990, international recognition came in the form of exhibitions in Rome and Milan, an invitation to exhibit in New...
    During 1990, international recognition came in the form of exhibitions in Rome and Milan, an invitation to exhibit in New York and Hong Kong as well as a return exhibition in Italy in 1993. More exhibitions have followed in Bonn, Washington, Singapore and Koln. 
    In 1994 he put 35 sculptures on exhibition in New York at the Grand Central Station as part of the Strengthening the Link initiative to boost trade between South Africa and The United States, organised by SATOUR in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry, represented by former president Nelson Mandela. 
     

  • Life Size

    • Anton Smit, In Moment Series II, 2019

      Anton Smit

      In Moment Series II, 2019
      Bronze
      195 x 158 x 25.5 cm
    • Anton Smit, Song of the Soul, 2013

      Anton Smit

      Song of the Soul, 2013
      Bronze
      171 x 34 x 33 cm
    • Anton Smit, Toiva Ya Toiva Thought-Pause-Gesture, 2021

      Anton Smit

      Toiva Ya Toiva Thought-Pause-Gesture, 2021
      GRP
      207 x 82 x 47 cm
    • Anton Smit, In Moment Series I, 2019

      Anton Smit

      In Moment Series I, 2019
      Bronze
      184 x 39.5 x 26 cm
    • Anton Smit, In Moment Series IV, 2021

      Anton Smit

      In Moment Series IV, 2021
      Bronze
      199 x 40 x 34 cm
    • Anton Smit, But-I-Fly, 2021

      Anton Smit

      But-I-Fly, 2021
      Bronze
      169.5 x 37 x 32.8 cm
  • Since Anton was recognised as a budding sculptor in his early years he has never looked back. With consistent hard...
    Since Anton was recognised as a budding sculptor in his early years he has never looked back. With consistent hard work and continuous international and local exhibitions, ever increasing search for new and deeper artistic expression, Anton Smit is arguably one of the major sculptors alive today.  
    Smit has exhibited across South Africa, with  exhibitions in  Witrivier, Nelspruit, Pietersburg, Johannesburg, Potchefstroom, Durban and  Cape Town, in leading galleries such as the Crake, Kraft, Olivetti, Michaelatos, Beuster Skolimowski, Everard Read and many others.   
    Widely revered and arguably one of the major sculptors alive today, Anton’s work evokes themes of suffering, reconciliation, glory and sublimation. His works grace public and private collections locally and abroad and he was featured at SCOPE Art Fair in New York in 2017.
    His body of work comprises towering human figures, nudes, heads, masks, hands, angels, floating and stretching figures, warriors, as well as abstract works, sculpted out of steel, metal, stone and a unique iron and polymer cast mixture, as well as bronze.

  • Exhibitions