Lionel Smit was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1982 and started exhibiting straight after finishing school at Pro Arte Alphen Park. He now lives and works in Cape Town and is best known for his contemporary portraiture executed through monumental canvasses and sculptures.

Lionel exhibits both in South Africa, where he is considered one of the country’s youngest investment artists, and abroad. His work is currently on exhibition or at art fairs in Amsterdam, Germany, India, Miami, Monaco, London and Hong Kong. Over the past 10 years he has established a substantial international following with collectors ranging from Standard Chartered Bank to Laurence Graff, with Graff’s acquisitions on display at his Delaire Graff wine estate. One of Lionel’s paintings was exhibited as part of the 2013 BP Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery in London, where it won the Viewer’s Choice Award and was selected as the main ‘face’ used in advertising and posters for the exhibition. Another career highlight was having one of his paintings published on the cover of Christie’s Auction Catalogue. He was also honoured with a Ministerial Award for Visual Art from the Department of Culture.

Lionel exemplifies the creative’s urge for constant experimentation. Exploring themes that include cultural and individual identity within South Africa, his portraits showcase a complex interplay of artistic expression and aesthetic sensitivity that allows his work to be both conceptually complex while remaining accessible to the general public. A constant drive to experiment with his chosen medium – predominantly bronze and oil paint – has allowed his technique and aesthetic to grow and develop.