In Ruschka du Toit’s paintings, inks are coaxed with water to bleed and stain; lines dissolve and reappear, and colours shift while forms and figures emerge from flowers. In a loose, gestural manner, du Toit creates marks that vibrate across the surface, giving her pictures a sense of aliveness.
Du Toit works predominantly in acrylic ink on canvas and paper but prioritises conveying feeling over uniformity of medium; moving through figuration and abstraction, drawing and painting, paper and canvas, charcoal and ink.
Known for her interest in flowers as conduits of meaning, du Toit has begun incorporating other messengers from the natural world – moths, shells, and the night. She is drawn to her subjects serendipitously, often discovering their personal significance after working with them and uncovering uncanny links to broader themes of mortality, sentimentality and memory. In seeking understanding, her practice becomes an inquiry into the relationship between the natural world and human experience.
“My process is a negotiation between control and chance, structure and free flow. Using ink, I move quickly, allowing intuition to guide each mark and colour. Holding both fragility and strength, my paintings mirror the ever-shifting experience of being human.”
Carefully considering her titles, she draws inspiration from literature, poetry, her own reflections, and conversations with friends. Her work is grounded in this interplay between image and text.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025 In Suspended Light Group Show, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town
2025 Sessions Group Show, Cape Town
2025 Woordfees Art Auction with Strauss&co, curated by Reservoir, Cape Town
2025 Visiting Hours, Online Exhibition, Studio Veive, Amsterdam
2025 as circular as hope, Independent Solo Show, PICHULIK, Cape Town
2025 Lobster Club Annual Group Show, Lobster Club, Los Angeles
2024 There are feelings you haven’t felt yet, Group Show, Curatorial Edge, Cape Town
2024 Small Canvas, Big Impact, Group Show, RK Contemporary, Riebeek-Kasteel
2024 Going Guerilla, Group Show, Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town
2024 Delphian Gallery Open Call, Group Show, Unit1 Gallery, London
2024 The Garden at Night, Independent Solo Exhibition, Cape Town
2022 Fluorescents, Group Show curated by Fanie Buys, Cape Town
2020 Home is where the art is, Zeitz Mocaa, Cape Town
