Johan Stegman, One Point, Linocut, 2024

Dimensions: 31 x 30 cm

Johannesburg-based artist Johan Stegman describes his practice as “using Charcoal, Etchings, and Explosions.” Working within the aesthetic and technical traditions of etching and charcoal—mediums rooted in the Renaissance and Romantic eras of Western classicism—Stegman draws viewers in with meticulous, almost miniature narratives. These detailed compositions become a stage for interrogating historical legacies and cultural fallacies.

Through the deliberate insertion of iconography borrowed from popular culture, political figures, and South Africa’s wartime history, Stegman explores the paradoxes of contemporary identity. This layered visual language often reflects on the complexities of his own Afrikaans upbringing, balancing reverence for tradition with a sharp critical lens.

One Point exemplifies this approach, using the graphic clarity of linocut to distill his themes into a striking, thought-provoking image.