Beyond the Canvas: In Dialogue with Artist Gabrielle Kruger

Blurred Lines in The Vault at The Silo Hotel

The Blurred Lines exhibition opened last month at The Silo’s Vault gallery in collaboration with Brundyn Arts & Culture. We caught up with Cape Town-based artist Gabrielle Kruger to discuss her work, inspiration and the opportunity to showcase her creativity to a new audience.

Q. What inspired the title of the exhibition?

GABRIELLE: “Blurred Lines” is also the title of one of my works – a recent painting, or paint study where paint is extruded, dried and then collaged onto wet paint. In my studio, I work with paint as a versatile medium that could be applied sculpturally, or even like collage and textile.

The title of the exhibition encapsulates this blurring of boundaries and transformation of materiality, expanding the conversation of what painting could be.

Q: How many pieces are featured, and do you have any favourites?

GABRIELLE: The exhibition consists of fourteen pieces and it’s the first time that I’m showing my Paint Vessels, which I’m very excited about. In my studio, the paint buckets over time become quite sculptural with all the left-over paint debris that naturally builds up while I am working. There is no waste in the studio, it is all circular and I look at every opportunity of how to re-use and re-incorporate the material. Sometimes these buckets then become sculptural objects that I then fully cover with paint and turn into vessels. The Garden Series was born from using a garden-themed Wearable Painting used in one of my Performance Paintings. For me that shows the kind of performative aspect of the processes I use – always continuous and circular.

Q: You mention continuity and circularity in your work?

GABRIELLE: In my studio, there’s paint everywhere, but also a kind of library of dried pieces of paint that I use for multiple paintings that I work on at the same time. I reuse all leftover paint scraps so that nothing goes to waste; using paint not only as a flat surface material but also as a building block for collaging and sculpting. My process-oriented approach not only reflects my personal desire to use materials sustainably but also helps me translate my visual ideas into tactile, layered works, where even the smallest remnants of paint can take on new life and open a dialogue for a new work to exist. There’s a sense of transference from one painting to the next. The works are therefore always in physical conversation with each other, so I see it as always in flux.

Q: How does this exhibition showcase your unique formula/technique of painting?

GABRIELLE: I’m interested to see how one can test the limits of a material. Over the years I have developed quite a unique practice with my own formula of acrylic paint that I experiment with as a dynamic and versatile medium, that pushes the conventions of traditional painting on canvas. I embrace curiosity in the studio by experimenting and playing with the medium; pushing the limits of what paint can do. I have developed a process where the paint mimics the viscosity of glue when wet and the elasticity of rubber when dry. By extruding and drying pieces of paint to assemble the painting, the paint becomes a collaging material or something sculptural. My processes involve layering, weaving, scraping, cutting, collaging and folding – giving the paint its own language.

Q: What significance does exhibiting at The Vault hold for you as an artist?

GABRIELLE: I am very pleased to be included in The Silo Hotel’s exhibition programme. Historically, The Vault has included a variety of very talented contemporary artists in their programme, such Zander Blom, Jody Paulsen and Kate Gottgens – all artists that I admire and look up to. The industrial and below-ground space is both intimate and inviting.

Q: Why should visitors to the Waterfront make time for your exhibition?

GABRIELLE: The Silo District is such a great urban space offering many interesting places to visit along with the Zeitz MOCAA and many galleries and commercial spaces. The Silo Hotel being right in the middle of it all offers a unique gallery space that showcases local talent and is accessible to all – I think that definitely makes it worth a visit. I’m very pleased to invite a new audience of viewers to see my exhibition.

Need to Know

The Blurred Lines exhibition is available for viewing at The Vault, The Silo Hotel’s private gallery space. Why not book a meal at The Silo and explore our private art gallery? Booking is essential.

The exhibition runs until the end of August 2025.
For more information about Gabrielle Kruger visit: www.gabriellekruger.com or Instagram: @gabriellekruger