Hylton nel biography of william

Hylton Nel was born in 1941 in N’kana, Zambia, and now lives and works on the outskirts of Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo.

Nel describes himself as an 'artist-potter', which aptly refers to his interest in painted imagery as well as form and function.

About - Hylton Nel

Over the past five decades he has developed a style of work that is rich in references to the decorative arts and literary and art historical sources. His plates, bowls, vases, plaques and figurative pieces are idiosyncratically decorated with witty - and sometimes poignant - line drawings and script. His imagery ranges from penises to Madonnas, cats to angels, and his quotes are drawn from poetry and the daily press as well as his observations of the world around him.

Things Made Over Time is Nel’s sixth solo show at Stevenson, following Bowls in Johannesburg (2022).

His work has been the subject of various survey exhibitions, including This plate is what I have to say inCharleston, East Sussex, UK (2023); Hylton Nel at 80, Monographs on African Artists - Smithsonian Libraries COVI