(b. 1974 Johannesburg, South Africa)

Tamlin Blake is a professional multi-media South African artist. A central theme of Blake’s work is a concern with cross-cultural South African symbols of wealth and status. More recently she has focused her work on what constitutes and underpins each individual’s sense of belonging and identity as she became influenced by her rural surroundings and the communities who live and work there. A prominent aspect of Blake’s practice is her fascination with materials and manipulating new mediums in ways which take them past the merely decorative or prosaic. Blake was instrumental in developing specialised beading techniques now used by Qaqambile Bead Studio in Cape Town in collaboration with various contemporary South African artists.

Her own work currently consists of tapestries, woven from re-cycled hand-spun newspaper and working with acrylic paint in a way which uses its plasticity to create textured surfaces that closely resemble beadwork and textiles. She also works closely with various studios including the Spier Artisan Studio and The Keiskamma Arts Project to help produce collative works in mosaic and embroidery belonging to the Spier Arts Trust of which she is also the chief curator.

Tamlin Blake holds a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the University of Stellenbosch. She has had nine solo exhibitions to date, the most recent being at Everard Read Franschhoek entitled Treading Lightly. In 2019 her large-scale tapestry piece Tied By Time commissioned by Spier, was exhibited at Everard Read Johannesburg’s CIRCA gallery and again at the African American Museum, Dallas, Texas, USA (2023) and now the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane, New Orleans (2025). She has also exhibited extensively in group shows nationally and internationally. Her work was included in the Synergy exhibition of contemporary bead art at Iziko Michaelis Collection (2005-06), the South African Art: Signs exhibition held at Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum in Bratislava (2007) and the Skin-to-Skin: Challenging Textile Art show, which formed part of the Kaunas Art Biennial TEXTILE 07 in Lithuania (2007). Her work was exhibited at the Spier Contemporary Exhibition (2008), included in the South African Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China and presented as a Spier Special Project at the FNB Joburg Art Fair in 2012. In 2003 she received the Brett Kebble Merit Award and in 2011 she was invited to the Frans Masereel Centre in Belgium for an artist's residency. Her work can be found in various permanent corporate and public collections.

SELECTED SOLO SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025    Treading Lightly, Everard Read, Franschhoek

2024    After the Fire, Sisonke Gallery, Heritage Hotel, Cape Town

2019    Tied by Time, Everard Read CIRCA, Rosebank, Johannesburg

2018    Stealing Beauty, Everard Read Gallery, Rosebank Johannesburg

2015     Revelation: Stories and Secrets Disclosed, CIRCA, Rosebank, Johannesburg

2013    Altered Yarns Revisited, online exhibition at Out of the Cube

2012    Spier Special Project: Tamlin Blake, The FNB Joburg Art Fair,

Altered Yarns, Spier Wine Estate, Cape Town

2008    Private Spaces, Curious Whetstone and Frankly, Cape Town

2007    Birthright, Bell-Roberts Contemporary Art Gallery, Cape Town and 2008 Hollard Gallery Hall, Johannesburg

2005    Blood, Sweat and Tears, blank projects, Cape Town

2004    Change of Address, AVA, Cape Town

2001    Exploring Cremnophytes, Bang the Gallery, Cape Town

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025    Diepe Grond, curated by Liza Grobler, KKNK Arts Festival, Oudtshoorn

Motherhood: Paradox and Duality, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town

If You Look Hard Enough You Can See Our Future: Selections of Contemporary South African Art from the Nando’s Art Collection, curated by Laurie Ann Farrell, Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane, New Orleans

2024     INNER SANCTUM, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

              Winter Collection, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa

2023    If you look hard enough, you can see our future, African American Museum, Dallas, USA

2020     Odyssey, online exhibition, Everard Read, South Africa & UK

2015    FNB Joburg Art Fair, with Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa

Summer Exhibition, Knysna Fine Art Gallery, South Africa

2013    Small Canvas Project, initiated by the Benetton Foundation and exhibited at Ca’ dei Carraresi, Treviso (2014); Museo Bilotti, Rome (2014) & the Venice Biennale (2015), Italy

              SPI National Portrait Award, shown at various galleries in South Africa through 2014

2012    The 8th Definitive Series of Stamps, Iziko SA National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa 

2010    South African Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, China

2009    Keepsakes, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

2008    Skin-to-Skin: Challenging Textile Art, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2007-8 Spier Contemporary 2007. Spier Wine Estate and Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa

            Skin-to-Skin: Challenging Textile Art. Kaunas Art Biennial TEXTILE 07, Kaunas, Lithuania

             South African Art, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum. Bratislava, Slovakia

             Portrait and Landscape, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Lourensford, Somerset West, South Africa

2005-6 20 Artists, print exhibition, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

            Synergy, Iziko Michaelis Collection, Cape Town, South Africa

            Shaping Place, Grande Provence Estate, Franschhoek, South Africa 

Finding You, Collaborative work in clay, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

2004    11th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

Doring Dollies, AVA, Cape Town, South Africa

Assemblage, Battersea Affordable Art Fair, London, UK

2003    Water Colour Society of Ireland  Annual Exhibition, Dun Laoighaire, Ireland. Botanical Art Exhibition, group show, Queen Victoria and Art Gallery, Tasmania, Australia

2002    Fruits of Desire, joint exhibition, The Metatron Art Gallery, Co. Wicklow, Ireland Water Colour Society of Ireland Annual Exhibition, Dun Laoighaire, Ireland

Red Dot Artists. Bartley Dray gallery, 62 Old Church St, Chelsea, London

2001    Botanical Art, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg

1998    Botanical Art, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, RSA 

Succulents in Botanical Art, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, RSA

EDUCATION

2001    Masters in Fine Art (Illustration), University of Stellenbosch

1999    BA in Fine Art (Honours) Illustration, University of Stellenbosch

1995    BA in Fine Art (Sculpture), University of Stellenbosch, top graduate student of the year

COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS

2005    ABSA l’Atelier Competition, National Exhibition, Johannesburg

2003    Brett Kebble Art Awards, Merit Award, CTICC, Cape Town

2002    Kirstenbosch Biennale, Silver medal, Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town

Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show, Silver-Gilt medal, RHS, London Awarded membership of the Water Colour Society of Ireland (WCSI) (2002 and 2003)

2000    Inaugural Kirstenbosch Exhibition of Botanical Art, Bronze medal, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town

1996    Volkskas L’Atelier Competition, National Exhibition, Johannesburg

1995    Absolute Artistic License, First Prize, held by Absolute Vodka, Annex to the National Gallery, Cape Town

Top graduate student of the year, Department of Fine Art, University of Stellenbosch

RESIDENCIES

2011    Frans Masereel Centre, Kasterlee, Belgium. A three-week residency focusing on two-

colour, stone, lithographic printing.

CORPORATE AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Iziko Art Collections (South African National Gallery)

Spier Holdings Contemporary Art Collection

The Contemporary Collection for the New Hollard House at Villa Arcadia

South African Breweries

Erma Stern Museum, UCT

Meulensteen Collection, Slovakia

Nandos UK

Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Water Colour Society of Ireland at the University of Limerick

Botany Department of the University of Stellenbosch (commissioned by Dr. Piet Vorster and Dr. Betty Marais)

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town (commissioned by Dr. Ernst van Jaarsveld)

BOTANICAL WORK REPRODUCED IN

Flowering Plants of Africa, Volume 58, 2007

Cactus and Succulent Journal. (U.S.), Vol. 73, March-April 2001, no. 2. p 68.

Aloe. (South Africa), Vol. 38, No 1&2, 2001. p 30.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MCINNES, Jackie (2012) Tamlin Blake. Spier ISBN 978-0-620-52880-1

ARNOLD, Marion (Ed.) and ROURKE, John P. (2001) South African Botanical Art: Peeling Back the Petals, Cape

Town: Fernwood Press, p 188. ISBN: 978-1-8749-5054-7

Catalogue: FNB Joburg Art Fair 2012 (Artlogic and Jacana Media: 2012), p 60. ISBN: 978-1-4314-0709-5

Catalogue: South Africa: 10x12 @ SA, Contemporary Artists from South Africa. Luciano Benetton

Collection. Curator: Nadja Daehnke (Fabrica: 2012). p 35-36.

Catalogue: Spier Contemporary 2007 exhibition and awards. Editor: Jay Panther (Africa Centre: 2007), p 52.