Oliver Scarlin was born in Cape Town in 1987. He received a BA in visual art at the Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography and later completed the 3-year painting program at the Florence Academy of Art, where he taught as an assistant instructor. Since his return to Cape Town in 2015 he has had 4 solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group shows.

Oliver paints primarily from observation and is interested in exploring perception through form and colour. He makes functional ceramic objects that feature in his still-life work. Beyond the formal elements of painting, the work is informed by themes of memory, longing, and queer intimacy.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 ‘New Works’, EBONY/CURATED, Franschhoek, South Africa

2020 ‘Be Still My Heart’, Glen Carlou Gallery, Simondium Paarl, South Africa

2019 ‘Fruition’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2018 ‘The Painters Plate’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2017 ‘Tidescapes’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023
Room With a View, Curated by Karen Elkington, EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town, South Africa

2022
‘Paint’, Curated by JP Meyer, The Gallery at Glen Carlou, Simondium Paarl, Cape Town, South Africa

2021
‘LIGHT’, Glen Carlou Gallery, Simondium Paarl, South Africa
‘99 Reasons to Come to Cape Town’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Sailors and Sirens’, Rust-En-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville, South Africa
‘Verdigris’, GUS Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2020
‘Ceramix’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Boys Don’t Cry’, Rust-En-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville, South Africa

2019
‘Self’, Glen Carlou Gallery, Simondium Paarl, South Africa
‘Even Artists Get The Blues’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Palate, Plate, Palette’, Rust-En-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville, South Africa

2018
‘Winter Exhibition’, Otomys Art Gallery, Tetbury, England
‘Rain Dance’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2017
‘Terrain’, A Group Exhibition, Absolut Art Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Sanlam Portrait Award "Portrait 100" Rust-En-Vrede Gallery / Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Hour Work’, The Voorkamer Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Elements of Realism’, Absolut Art Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
‘Glimpses of Eden’, Imibala Gallery, Somerset West, South Africa

2016
‘The Spirit of Stern’, Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town, South Africa

2015
‘Summer Alumni Show’, The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

2014
‘Represent Art London, 20th Century Theater, London, United Kingdom
‘Artists In Transit’, Imibala Gallery, Somerset West, South Africa