Houses on a hillside, Bo-Kaap 1940

Gregoire Boonzaier painted ‘Houses on a hillside, Bo-Kaap’ with oils, and the brushstrokes feel like they’re dancing. He wasn’t trying to copy reality; instead, he was exploring how colors and textures can evoke a place, a feeling. Look at the way the paint is applied—thick and juicy in some spots, almost scraped across the surface in others. It’s like he’s sculpting with the paint, building up the forms of the houses and the landscape. Check out the lower portion of the painting; you can see the individual marks that coalesce to create this vibrant community. There is a clear sense of the hand here, the physicality of the medium. Boonzaier’s work reminds me a little of Van Gogh, that same intensity and emotional connection to the subject. But Boonzaier has his own unique voice, a South African sensibility that shines through in the colors and the light. It’s a great reminder that art is an ongoing conversation.