Janine Venter | Fish Hoek – Cape Town | Figurative Artist

Janine Venter is a figurative artist based in Fish Hoek, Cape Town. Working primarily in oil, she creates deeply personal portraits that explore the relationship between figure and ground. Through colour, composition and spatial interplay, her work evokes intimacy, vulnerability and the personal narratives held within each sitter. 

Colour is central to Janine’s practice and forms part of what she describes as the emotional architecture of the work. Inspired by the people closest to her, she works intuitively, drawing on relationships, lived experience and a strong visual sensibility. Her dream-like portraits seek to reveal the uncanny inner worlds of their subjects. 

Backgrounds and foregrounds work together to deepen the meaning and liminal atmosphere of each painting, creating a dialogue between the figure and the space surrounding it. Through this interplay of subject, colour and environment, Janine’s work reflects the emotional landscapes, connections and stories that shape our lives. 

Medium: Oil painting, figurative portraiture
Studio Address: Mothership Studios, 16 Dunster Avenue, Fish Hoek
Instagram: @janineventerart

Exhibitions: 

Upcoming - As Human As A Woman, Ink Box Art, August 2026 Upcoming - Botanicals, Avondale Gallery, October 2026