On Looking

On Looking - Artist Statement - Kevin Leathem These paintings begin with photographs taken inside museums and galleries across South Africa and England  vantage points made possible by years spent working within their collections, often in the quieter, less-seen corners not open to the public. Working in the tradition of Vermeer, I paint absences: the gap on a wall where a piece once hung, the corner of a neighbouring frame edging into view, the trace of a curated history that has been moved, removed, or deliberately withheld. What's missing becomes as telling as what remains. At their core, these works are not about me. They're about looking and about how differently we all do it. Two viewers can stand before the same painting and notice entirely different things, shaped by what they bring with them. The paintings don't resolve that difference; they hold space for it.

Kevin Leathem - Artist Profile Kevin is a painter, restorer, and educator based in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. He studied painting at Rhodes University, earning a Master's degree in 2008, before moving to the UK, where his work was exhibited across London, including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. There he worked in art restoration and fabrication for world-renowned museums and galleries, including the Royal Collection. Kevin now works as an artist, art restorer, and art teacher, and recently became Chairman of the Van Plettenberg Historical Society. Art remains his enduring passion, shaping every part of his practice from restoration and teaching to heritage conservation.