FEATURED ARTIST – DION CUPIDO

Born in 1973 in South Africa, Dion Cupido is largely self taught.
In 1998 he started exhibiting at the Peanut Gallery. In 2003 he joined the Arts & Media Access Centre’s (AMAC) professional development program, where he won the Truworths AMAC Academy of the Visual Arts award.
In recent years, he has produced a consistent body of abstract work. Initially it consisted of urban escapes through the front window of his car and most recently he discovered African-Pop portraiture using industrial ink as painting medium.
Dion discovered his ability to paint, by accident, when he helped a friend with a school project. He started painting professionally from 2001 and has recently fallen in love with painting portraits with industrial ink. When he started out he was fascinated with abstract work. It took him a year to find his technique and longer to sell his first painting. The important lesson was the realisation that besides its intellectual component, abstract painting is also a form of expression of emotion which triggers certain thoughts and memories. He also worked with realism but realised that although it appealed to viewers it never fulfilled him. It is only recently that he discovered a new technique using mainly industrial ink with which he produced his African-Pop Art Portraits.
Cupido has a studio space at Good Hope Art Studios in Cape Town, South Africa.