BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY
Heather Gourlay-Conyngham was born in Durban in 1956 and spent her early years in Westville, outside the city. Having acquired a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts degree from the University of Natal and a Higher Education Diploma from the University of South Africa, she combined her career as an art teacher at various schools in KwaZulu-Natal with that of an artist, but in 2012 began painting full-time at her home in Hilton, near Pietermaritzburg. Since then she has had four solo exhibitions, and in 2013 won the first Sanlam Portrait Award.
The unifying thread throughout her work is humanity, seen either in realistic depictions of people or expressed in works that reflect the consequence of human actions. Known particularly for her portraits, Gourlay-Conyngham’s paintings have almost always depicted people, often with the figure and its context stripped to their bare essentials. More recently, her compositions have included objects and complex natural backgrounds that assume an allegorical role and profoundly affect the manner in which the figure is perceived.
Included in Gourlay-Conyngham’s 2017 exhibition at the Everard Read Gallery was an installation that comprised components of mediums other than painting and demonstrated that, whether painted, drawn, cut or assembled, all her works display fine, almost obsessive detail and intricacy. More recently the theme of global warming that underpinned this installation has been extended to include paintings and monumental drawings of the ocean, which relate to the fragility of marine habitats. Figures, plants, animals, marine life, landscapes and seascapes as well as inanimate objects, are acutely observed and painstakingly rendered, and the artworks instilled with tension and an innate energy.
Heather Gourlay-Conyngham’s enduring fascination with the human condition underpins her work. Her empathy for her subjects, whether family or friends, people whom she has come to know while working on a commission, or land- and seacapes, animals and plants, together with the respect with which she accords her subjects, is palpable. But, as seen in the her 2017 installation and recent ocean works, which serve to highlight the destructive nature of mankind, it becomes evident that while seeking beauty in her works, her view of humanity is not uncritical.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020
WOMEN WHO READ ARE DANGEROUS
A group exhibition of work by invited artists curated by Hamlin Jansen van Vuuren at the Rust-En-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town
TINY 2020
An exhibition of works limited to 20 x 20 x 20 cm by a group of invited artists, curated by Megan Scott at the Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
PORTRAIT SHOW
A group exhibition of invited artists curated by Musa Nxumalo at the Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
2019
101 COLLECTING CONVERSATIONS: SIGNATURE WORKS OF A CENTURY
A curated exhibition of 101 significant artworks marking the opening of Javett-UP, Javett Art Centre, Pretoria
NUDES IN THE SANLAM ART COLLECTION
A selection of artworks from the Sanlam collection at the Norval Foundation, Cape Town
PALATE PLATE PALETTE
A group exhibition of invited artists at the Rust-En-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town
2018
FIVE DEGREES OF SEPARATION
A group exhibiton of five artists at the Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg
TURBINE ART FAIR
Included in TALKS PROGRAMME: “THINK Scenes of Success”, presented by Prof Terence King and Dr Louise Hall
2017
FIVE DEGREES OF REALISM
A group exhibition of five artists at the KZNSA Gallery, Durban
BEING HUMAN
A solo exhibition at the Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
FNB JOBURG ART FAIR
Included in the Everard Read exhibit
2016
STUDIO
An exhibition celebrating the lives and works of South African artists, at the South African National Gallery, Cape Town
MODPORTRAIT
An international exhibition of selected portraits, at the Agrupación Artística Aragonesa, Zaragoza, Spain
2015
RECENT PAINTINGS
A solo exhibition at the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Cape Town
2014
THE YEAR OF THE HORSE
A group exhibition with the horse as a theme, at the Elizabeth Gordon Gallery, Durban
2013
SHIMMERING
A group exhibition of South African art, curated by Julia Meintjes, at the Cavalli Gallery, Somerset West
2012
SANLAM PORTRAIT AWARD WINNER AND FINALISTS
A travelling exhibition of 40 selected portraits, at galleries in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein and George
UNFOLDINGS
A solo exhibition: paintings of people, at the Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg
UNFOLDINGS
A solo exhibition: paintings of nude figures, at the KZNSA Gallery, Durban
2010, 2000 and 1996
JABULISA
The art and craft of KwaZulu-Natal, displayed at the Carnegie Art Gallery, Newcastle; Durban Art Gallery, Durban; Empangeni Art Gallery, Empangeni; Margate Museum, Margate; Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg; and Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg
2009
CONTEMPORARY REFLECTIONS: NEW ART FROM OLD
Interpretations of selected works in the Tatham Art Gallery’s permanent collection by invited artists, at the Tatham Art Gallery
2008
SASOL NEW SIGNATURES
Selected works of artists from all regions of South Africa, at the Pretoria Art Museum
2007
HANGING TOGETHER
The work of a mother (Jean Beeton), two daughters (Carol Eady and Julia Beeton-Kuhlmann) and their friend (Heather Gourlay-Conyngham, at the The Atrium, New Doornfontein, Johannesburg
2004
IMVUBELO
A celebration of Women’s Day and ten years of democracy, at the Durban Art Gallery
2004 and 2000
THE MIDLANDS BIENNALE
Selected works by artists from the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, at the Tatham Art Gallery
2003
NATIONAL PORTRAIT COMPETITION: KING CETSHWAYO
Finalist in an exhibition of entrants to a national competition for a portrait of Zulu king, Cetshwayo, at the Tatham Art Gallery
2000
KWAZULU-NATAL TEACHERS
An exhibition of work by KwaZulu-Natal Art teachers, at the Tatham Art Gallery
1999
GRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NATAL/KWAZULU-NATAL
An exhibition of work by graduates, at the Jack Heath Gallery, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
1998
FIFTEEN GRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NATAL/KWAZULU-NATAL
An exhibition of 15 graduates of the University of Natal/KwaZulu-Natal, at the Jack Heath Gallery
PORTRAITS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Douglas Ralfe, (Michaelhouse School), 2020
Nicole and Karen, (Javett Art Centre), 2019
Jutta, (Tatham Art Gallery), 2019
Desmond Smith (Sanlam), 2017
Gary Ralfe, (Michaelhouse School), 2016
Mary Williams, (Roedean School), 2016
Simon Weaver, (Cordwalles School), 2015
David Goldblatt, (Sanlam Art Collection), 2015
Homage, (Tatham Art Gallery), 2012
A Young Man (Sanlam Art Collection), 2013
Joy, (Tatham Art Gallery), 2009
David Wilkinson, (St Anne’s College), 2009
Pius Langa, (University of KwaZulu-Natal), 2001
Trevor Benison, (Durban High School), 1999
Dudley Forde, (Michaelhouse School), 1998
Tony Ardington, (Michaelhouse School), 1998
Bill McQuade, (St Anne’s College), 1997
Gerry Wilkinson, (Cowan House School), 1997
King Goodwill Zwelithini, (Tatham Art Gallery), 1996
Dudley Forde, Durban High School), 1995