Knysna Fine Art

Knysna Fine Art Knysna Fine Art is one of South Africa’s finest galleries. We value for insurance and probate.

We specialise in contemporary South African art in a variety of media, although a number of international fine artists are exhibited. The gallery also handles the work of the South African masters and works closely with vendors and collectors. Recent sales include major works by Gerard Sekoto, J.H Pierneef, Lucas Sithole and Robert Hodgins

The owner is Trent Read, the elder son of the late Everar

d Read, who was the doyen of South African art dealers and Trent is the fifth generation of his family to be a dealer. The gallery moved to Thesen House in 2010 and there are very few galleries anywhere to have such beautiful space in which to operate. We have recently opened a new venue in the same building – A Different Drummer handles ceramics, objets de vertu, photographs and fine tribal artefacts, and has rapidly established a reputation for excellence with collectors, architects & interior designers. We consult to museums, corporate and private collectors both here and internationally and offer expert advice on the care and maintenance of collections. Our expertise in the design of environments to show art at its finest is used extensively by architects and designers.

21/05/2026

"Building Mirrors, Carrying Souls", a superb exhibition by South African artists Karlien van Rooyen and Michael Beckurts currently on show at Knysna Fine Art.

Video by


This exhibition entitled "Why Are We Here?" by renowned South African artist, Wilma Cruise is on show until 8 June 2026....
19/05/2026

This exhibition entitled "Why Are We Here?" by renowned South African artist, Wilma Cruise is on show until 8 June 2026.

Contact [email protected] to receive the exhibition catalogue.

Photographs by


Images of the beautiful exhibition "Building Mirrors, Carrying Souls" by Karlien van Rooyen and Michael Beckurts. Contac...
15/05/2026

Images of the beautiful exhibition "Building Mirrors, Carrying Souls" by Karlien van Rooyen and Michael Beckurts.

Contact [email protected] to receive the exhibition catalogue.

Photographs by


Oil painting "Black Tea with Blooming Sugar" by Weyers du Toit, measuring 110 x 80 cm. Weyers du Toit lives in Bredasdor...
14/05/2026

Oil painting "Black Tea with Blooming Sugar" by Weyers du Toit, measuring 110 x 80 cm.

Weyers du Toit lives in Bredasdorp in the Overberg and is well known for his still lives depicting everyday objects, which he paints from life. His formal compositions and use of colour reflect a deep admiration for the classical painters Rembrandt, Hals, Caravaggio, Goya, and Velázquez.

Contact [email protected] to receive a portfolio of available works by Weyers du Toit.


We had two wonderful openings on Saturday for exhibitions "Building Mirrors, Carrying Souls" by Karlien van Rooyen and M...
12/05/2026

We had two wonderful openings on Saturday for exhibitions "Building Mirrors, Carrying Souls" by Karlien van Rooyen and Michael Beckurts, and "Why Are We Here?" by Wilma Cruise.

Contact [email protected] or [email protected] to receive the exhibition catalogues.


The gallery is closed today due to the storm. For inquiries, please contact:Trent Read 082 552 7262Corlie de K**k 082 68...
12/05/2026

The gallery is closed today due to the storm. For inquiries, please contact:
Trent Read 082 552 7262
Corlie de K**k 082 689 5159

Our website: https://www.finearts.co.za/

WHY ARE WE HERE?An exhibition of works by Wilma Cruise is opening on Saturday, 9 May 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm.Works feat...
07/05/2026

WHY ARE WE HERE?

An exhibition of works by Wilma Cruise is opening on Saturday, 9 May 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm.

Works featured in this post from left to right:
"Trans Migration", 2018
monotype, edition 1/1
plate dimensions 44.5 x 49.5 cm

"Word", 2015
dry point etching, edition SP 
plate dimensions 30 x 31.5 cm

"OFS II", 2018
monotype, edition 1/1
plate dimensions 44.5 x 49.5 cm

"Looking through my old catalogues, I discovered that sculpture had been foregrounded in my exhibitions. Apart from Wordfees in 2023, my two-dimensional work has played second fiddle to the sculpture. In Why are we here?, the position is reversed.
 
Nevertheless, the 2-D work reflects the same concerns as the 3-D work. I explore the conundrum of the division between human hubris and the animal world, that which the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, calls the “abyssal rupture”, and which I refer to as the “space between”. My diary pages expressed my thoughts and musings over this question of the division.
 
The diary started in 1993 at an exhibition called Nicholas - October 1990 held in the Goodman Gallery, which deliberated on the murder of my nephew. Nicholas Cruise was aged 23 in 1990. He worked for the then banned ANC. He was killed by a letter bomb sent to his firm by a right-wing cabal. I commemorated his death in 1993. In addition to sculpture, I recorded my response to the tragedy in diary form. A4 pages were placed in a wooden box. The pages acted as a parallel text and attracted a lot of interest. Subsequently, the pages have grown from musings in a box to small pages on a wall in the 100-page diary and finally to 2x3 canvases. However, iconographical concerns are the same.
 
Sometime in the late 60’s, I began to use Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass as a metaphor for our chaotic world in which evil men and women are valorised while the ordinary person suffers. Thus Alice and her cohorts, the White Rabbit, Humpty Dumpty, and the Cheshire Cat feature prominently in the works." - Wilma Cruise

BUILDING MIRRORS, CARRYING SOULSAn exhibition of works by Karlien van Rooyen & Michael Beckurts opens on Saturday 9 May ...
07/05/2026

BUILDING MIRRORS, CARRYING SOULS

An exhibition of works by Karlien van Rooyen & Michael Beckurts opens on Saturday 9 May 2026 from 11 am to 1 pm.

Contact [email protected] to receive the exhibition catalogue.

Artworks featured in this post from left to right:
"Road Trip Home", 2025
stoneware ceramics with sgraffito underglaze, acrylic paint
39.5 x 26 x 26 cm

"Gathering", 2025,
watercolour on Fabriano Artistico HP
paper dimensions 18 x 14.5 cm

"Reverse Engineering", 2025
stoneware ceramics with sgraffito underglaze, epoxy
33 x 25 x 25 cm

"This collaboration between Karlien van Rooyen and Michael Beckurts unfolds as a dialogue between two bodies navigating the world through different lenses of ability. By merging Karlien’s translucent, body-shaped clay vessels with Michael’s narrative illustrations, the artists move beyond normative frameworks to articulate a shared somatic language. The works are shaped not by absence, but by points of intersection formed through friendship, intimacy, mutual support, and the act of carrying one another."

WHY ARE WE HERE?An exhibition of works by Wilma Cruise is opening on Saturday, 9 May 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm.Works feat...
07/05/2026

WHY ARE WE HERE?

An exhibition of works by Wilma Cruise is opening on Saturday, 9 May 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm.

Works featured in this post from left to right:
"The Pig", 2011
mixed media on paper
124 x 117 cm

"Why Are We Going?", 2026
ceramic
21 x 46 x 20.5 cm

"Harrismith", 2007
etching WP
157 x 49.5 cm

"Looking through my old catalogues, I discovered that sculpture had been foregrounded in my exhibitions. Apart from Wordfees in 2023, my two-dimensional work has played second fiddle to the sculpture. In Why are we here?, the position is reversed.

Nevertheless, the 2-D work reflects the same concerns as the 3-D work. I explore the conundrum of the division between human hubris and the animal world, that which the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, calls the “abyssal rupture”, and which I refer to as the “space between”. My diary pages expressed my thoughts and musings over this question of the division.

The diary started in 1993 at an exhibition called Nicholas - October 1990 held in the Goodman Gallery, which deliberated on the murder of my nephew. Nicholas Cruise was aged 23 in 1990. He worked for the then banned ANC. He was killed by a letter bomb sent to his firm by a right-wing cabal. I commemorated his death in 1993. In addition to sculpture, I recorded my response to the tragedy in diary form. A4 pages were placed in a wooden box. The pages acted as a parallel text and attracted a lot of interest. Subsequently, the pages have grown from musings in a box to small pages on a wall in the 100-page diary and finally to 2x3 canvases. However, iconographical concerns are the same.

Sometime in the late 60’s, I began to use Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass as a metaphor for our chaotic world in which evil men and women are valorised while the ordinary person suffers. Thus Alice and her cohorts, the White Rabbit, Humpty Dumpty, and the Cheshire Cat feature prominently in the works." - Wilma Cruise

BUILDING MIRRORS, CARRYING SOULSAn exhibition of works by Karlien van Rooyen & Michael Beckurts opens on Saturday 9 May ...
07/05/2026

BUILDING MIRRORS, CARRYING SOULS

An exhibition of works by Karlien van Rooyen & Michael Beckurts opens on Saturday 9 May 2026 from 11 am to 1 pm.

Contact [email protected] to receive the exhibition catalogue.

Artworks featured in this post from left to right:
"Sorella", 2025
stoneware ceramics with sgraffito underglaze
20 x 14 x 14 cm

"Crypt, Signal Hill", 2025
watercolour on Fabriano artistico HP
27 x 20 cm

"Amakhaya Amabili (Dual Home) For Those Who Carry "Home" In Different Places Simultaneously", 2026
stoneware ceramics with sgraffito underglaze,acrylic paint
58 x 24 x 11 cm

"This collaboration between Karlien van Rooyen and Michael Beckurts unfolds as a dialogue between two bodies navigating the world through different lenses of ability. By merging Karlien’s translucent, body-shaped clay vessels with Michael’s narrative illustrations, the artists move beyond normative frameworks to articulate a shared somatic language. The works are shaped not by absence, but by points of intersection formed through friendship, intimacy, mutual support, and the act of carrying one another."

Address

Thesen House, 6 Long Street
Knysna
6571

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:30 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday 09:00 - 13:00

Telephone

+27 44 382 5107

Website

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