The news of his passing has reverberated across the globe, with tributes flooding in on social media. “A towering figure in the art world has left us,” one heartfelt post reads – a sentiment shared by many who admired his artistry and spirit.

Widely celebrated for his innovative and evocative multimedia work, Diedericks was a multi-award-winning visual artist and printmaker whose influence on contemporary printmaking is indelible. Known for pushing the boundaries of the medium, he combined rigorous intellectual inquiry with technical brilliance. As a mentor, friend, tutor, and colleague, Diedericks left a lasting impression on those who had the privilege of working with him.

Diedericks’ art was deeply rooted in a commitment to social, political, and economic justice. Each work was the result of careful research, thoughtful planning, and passionate storytelling, often tackling difficult themes with courage and integrity.

“In my work, time and space appear to dissolve, and an air of conflict erupts. This is often a direct result of a personal aim to calm and disturb at the same time – drawing parallels between the two extremes of utopia and dystopia. There is always a secondary narrative in my work. The primary narrative has symbolic authority and aesthetic promise, although the mysterious secondary narrative exists in order to provoke thought in the viewer.

“In many ways, I aim to ‘rewrite’ history in my work and the dominant sense of self-awareness that informs most Western art practices. I am trying to present contemporary issues such as Difference as timeless, by situating my vocabulary of images and themes in an organic flux of dreams, history, news, commercial detritus, hyper-reality, and unvoiced feelings and forces of biological nature/desire,” his artvark artist statement read.

Born in 1965, Christiaan Diedericks graduated cum laude with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Potchefstroom, today the North-West University, later earning his Master’s in Fine Arts (cum laude for the practical component) from the University of Pretoria in 2000. His career blossomed into an international force, with his work exhibited across Southern Africa, the USA, Japan, Finland, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Belgium, England, Sweden, and France.

His relationship with France was particularly special. Here he is with a friend, Ella Cronjé, in Paris. Photo: Facebook/Christiaan Diedericks

Diedericks was an artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris on nine occasions since 1994. He also spent time working in New York under the prestigious Ampersand Foundation Fellowship in 2006, culminating in a critically acclaimed exhibition at Gallery 5+5 in Brooklyn, as well as recognition in the New York Blade.

Over his illustrious career, Diedericks participated in more than 50 international artist residencies and represented South Africa in over 30 international biennales. His dedication to the medium of printmaking led to invitations to elite residencies such as the Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium, The Halka Art Project in Istanbul, the Venice Print Studio in Italy, and India’s Chhaap Foundation, where he held a residency in 2013.

Among his many accolades, Diedericks was awarded the Kanna Award for Fine Arts at the 2006 ABSA KKNK festival in Oudtshoorn for his thought-provoking exhibition Secrets and Lies: Her Majesty’s Ivory Tower. He also received numerous grants throughout his career, including a NAC International bursary for workshops in non-toxic printmaking in Canada in 1999, and even ventured into television, appearing on SABC 3’s “The Apprentice” in 2005.

Christiaan Diedericks leaves behind a monumental legacy – not only in the works he created but in the lives he touched and the conversations he inspired. His contributions to South African and global art are profound, and his absence will be deeply felt.

As the curtain falls on a remarkable life and career, the world bids farewell to a fearless creator and visionary who used his talent to challenge injustice and celebrate humanity.

OFM News cg