Collection: Ashwin Pienaar

Ashwin Pienaar is an oil painter from the Eastern Cape, inspired by the vivid colours and textures of Southern Africa. His love for art was rekindled during a diplomatic posting to Zimbabwe, where I began capturing landscapes and everyday moments of life in the region — fishermen on Mozambican beaches, or sailors preparing their boats before a storm.

Working in thick, impasto strokes with palette knives, he strives to bring movement and atmosphere to each canvas. Through his work, he invites viewers to see Southern Africa as he does: a place of colour, movement, and quiet stories worth telling.

His passion for Southern Africa extends beyond art; he is also doing his PhD in international relations, focusing on Southern African regional diplomacy. His day job is as a researcher at Parliament in Cape Town. He paints in his spare