About the artist
Driaan Claassen
Driaan Claassen is a sculptor based in Woodstock, Cape Town. Working in bronze, wood, copper and ceramic, he explores his own consciousness, memories and patterns of thought.
Born in Johannesburg in 1991, Driaan studied 3D animation before apprenticing under Jan Otto du Plessis at Bronze Age Foundry. He has worked in sculpture since around 2012 and opened Reticence studio in Woodstock in 2015.
Background
Practice & exhibitions
Solo exhibitions include Forms of Silence at AIYA Bureau, Moscow (2022), Order and Chaos at EBONY/CURATED, Franschhoek (2021), and Complex Systems at THK Gallery, Cape Town (2023).
His collaboration with Catherine Ash resulted in Emergent Properties at NIROX Sculpture Park in 2023, following a residency at the Villa-Legodi Centre for Sculpture. In 2024 he undertook a residency at Quartier am Hafen in Cologne, supported by THK Gallery, exploring the relationship between traditional craftsmanship and digital tools.
In 2025, he participated in Quiet Grounds in Paris and held a Tyburn Foundation Affiliated Fellowship at Civitella Ranieri in Umbria.
The work
A way into the collections
Browse photographs and details in Works, or use the Mind Map to explore the relationships between collections.
Explore the mind mapBackground & resources
Exhibitions and press
Find selected exhibitions and residencies in the archive, with the full CV below and a separate publication archive.
Exhibition archivePress & publications
Background
CV
Exhibitions, residencies, education and collaborations.
Solo Exhibitions
Group Exhibitions
- 2025
- Investec Cape Town Art Fair, THK Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2024
- Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize — finalist, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Australia
- 2023
- Light + Space, THK Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2020
- EBONY/CURATED at Intersect Chicago, USA
- 2019
- PAD London, Southern Guild, London, UK
- 2017
- Stellar, Southern Guild, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2017
- Natural Selection, Southern Guild, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2015
- Woodwork, Southern Guild, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2016
- Design Miami, Southern Guild, Miami, USA — the bronze bench Reticence
- 2016
- A New Wave, Southern Guild, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2015
- Design Miami/Basel, Southern Guild, Basel, Switzerland
Residencies
Special projects & collaborations
- 2023
- Emergent Properties (with Catherine Ash), Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
Education
- Education
- Diploma in 3D Animation, The Animation School, Cape Town, South Africa
- Training
- Foundry Apprenticeship with Jan Otto du Plessis of Bronze Age
Selected organisations
