Kurt Pio’s Diamond Art
The saying “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” rings especially true for those of us who are enamored with these beguiling gems. The shapes and colors they refract are endlessly interesting, and have never been so beautifully captured as they have been by Kurt Pio. He is an artist out of Cape Town, South Africa, and his artwork is eclectic, bohemian, and thought provoking.
Though he graduated from Cape Peninsula University of Technology with a national diploma in Interior Design, his career as an interior designer lasted for less than a year, as he quickly found it to be unsatisfying. He then began freelancing as an assistant to the decor editor of VISI Magazine, known as South Africa’s “Most Beautiful Magazine,” which focuses on décor, design and architecture. Between his lifelong love for painting, his experience through his freelancing gig, and his completion of a Millinery course Saint Martin’s University in London, Kurt had all of the components needed to make his artistic vision a reality.
His “Diamond” series is filled with pieces as beautiful and rare as the gems themselves. With his background in interior design, he has an adept ability to paint works of art that can easily fit in regardless of the environment. The inspiration he takes from the world around him, and his acute sensitivity to color make for exceptional works. Subjects that one might see as simple, such as aloe plants or boys faces, in Pio’s hands, become abstract, unique masterpieces.
And people all over the world are taking notice. He was selected to feature at the 2013 Turbine Art Fair in Johannesburg, the edit[ed] shop in the Taj Hotel, two solo exhibitions, one at the trending Woodstock Exchange and one as the opening artist at the brand new Smith Gallery in Cape Town. International Trend forecaster, Lidewij Edelkoort snapped up one of his artworks at Smith and installed it in her curated show titled Fetishism, at the Trapholt Museum of Modern Art in Kolding, Denmark. Pio has also received considerable coverage in prominent local interior and lifestyle magazines for the past eight years. When Maniac caught up with Kurt in early September, he was en route to his exhibition in Antwerp at the Life is Art Gallery.
Whether it be gorgeous gems, full moons, or eerie portraits of the Queen of England, Kurt Pio’s creative force is seemingly endless. He shines bright like a diamond, and has the skill to capture it for the world to see.
To discover more, please visit his website.
Photos Courtesy of Kurt Pio
