Artist Database

Joachim Schönfeldt was born in Tshwane, South Africa but was raised in Namibia. He returned to South Africa in the early 1980s to study fine art at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Following his graduation, he worked as a Researcher and Curator of Old African Art at Meneghelli Holdings, also in Johannesburg. Schönfeldt transitioned to being a full-time artist in 1988 and was part of the inaugural group of artists for the Bag Factory Artists’ Studio, established in Johannesburg in 1991. He is known for his prints, paintings, and sculptures typically featuring animals – often with multiple heads – or South African iconography. Schönfeldt's works have been exhibited extensively, both locally and internationally, including in the 45th and 56th Venice Biennales (1993 and 2015) and Impressions from Sound Africa, 1965 to Now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2011).