Ruan Hoffmann

The battle for control of digital speech

2021

Contemporary artist Ruan Hoffmann initially studied at the University of Pretoria. He currently lives and works in The Netherlands. Using ceramic earthenware as his preferred medium, Hoffmann molds familiar objects such as plates, containers and tiles into willful, irregular and misshapen forms. Ruan Hoffmann’s masterful ceramics defy norms, inviting viewers into a world of unfiltered emotion and striking visual engagement. The resulting works are not presented as homey pieces emanating from the domestic sphere but as willful, irregular and misshapen forms on which the artist’s unedited observations on life’s experiences flow in constant, noisy glimpses of thought. Hoffmann adorns the surfaces of his plates with a vast array of images and text that can be unapologetic, politically confrontational, improper and even sometimes rude. It is work that is unashamedly loud, uncompromising and exhilarating. The adorned ceramic work expresses the artist Ruan Hoffmann's unedited observations on life's experiences. Widely exhibited, Hoffmann's works are also in a number of international collections including the South African National Gallery, The Frans Masereel Centrum, Belgium and the Museo de Arte Moderno, Dominican Republic, Apple and more.