JODY PAULSEN
(b. in 1987 Cape Town, South Africa)

In 2009 Paulsen graduated from the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Arts, with a specialisation in print media. He was awarded the Katrine Harries Print Cabinet Award in the same year. In 2012, Paulsen received the Jules Kramer Departmental Scholarship Award and went on to complete his Master’s Degree at the University of Cape Town in 2013.

Working in textile, particularly felt, Paulsen, explores themes related to his understanding within the context of contemporary, material culture. His work speaks of the process of production as he creates vast, elaborate tapestries and colourful collage works. Various shapes, colours, logos and fonts reference the current age of capitalism and experiences of global culture that shape concepts of gender, sexuality and identity.

Creating collages since a young age, Paulsen has always been drawn to this means of expression to position his understanding of the world. He states the following about the use of felt for his current art practice in an interview published on Between10and5, “My process is laborious, but it does not feel very laborious when you’re in the thick of it. I tend to have obsessive thoughts which I record quite meticulously in my diary every day. I collage these thoughts into a text similarly to the way one would write a poem. Once I have resolved the text in my diary, I start recreating the text in felt.” As such, he continues to state that his process of production for a single tapestry can take up to a month to complete. It is also a cathartic process as Paulsen often isolates himself when producing work for an upcoming exhibition.

Paulsen’s work is included in a number of notable collections, including the Sovereign Art Foundation collection in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Guernsey and South Africa, and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa’s collection in Cape Town, South Africa.

EDUCATION

2013

Master of Fine Art Degree, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

2009

Bachelor of Fine Art Degree, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED SOLOS

2023

Open Arms, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2021

Something About the Water, Galerie Droste, Düsseldorf, Germany

2020

Artist Room, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2019

The Armory Show, with SMAC Gallery, New York, USA

2018

Water Me, SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

2017

Untitled Art, with SMAC Gallery, Miami, USA

Pushing Thirty, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2013

What You Want, Whenever You Want It, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024

Winter, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

2023

Miart, with SMAC Gallery, Milan, Italy

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

The Other’s Warmth, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa

2022

Within the Fold, SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa.

2021

Weekend Special, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.

FNB Art Joburg, with SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2020

Gather, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

A Show of Solidarity, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.

Matereality, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2019

FNB Art Joburg, with SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Dress Up, Speak Up: Regalia and Resistance, 21c Museum Hotels, Cincinnati, USA

Radical Love, Ford Foundation Gallery, New York City, USA

Filling in the Gaps, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2018

Wish You Were Here, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

FNB Joburg Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, curated by Amelie Klein & Okwui Enwezor, Albuquerque Museum,Albuquerque; Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, USA

After the Thrill is Gone: Fashion, Culture and Politics in Contemporary South African Art, curated by Andrew Hennlich, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, USA

Passion Fruit, curated by Brooklyn Fire Proof Gallery, Temporary Storage Gallery, New York, USA

Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2017

After the Thrill is Gone: Fashion, Culture and Politics in Contemporary South African Art, curated by Andrew Hennlich, College of Wooster Art Museum, Wooster; Richmond Centre for Visual Arts, Kalamazoo; Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, USA

Part II, SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Cape Town Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

All Things Being Equal, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, curated by Amelie Klein & Okwui Enwezor, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA

2016

FNB Joburg Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

UPSTART/STARTUP, SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

Cape Town Art Fair, with SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, curated by Amelie Klein & Okwui Enwezor, Centre de Cultura Contemporánia de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands

2015

Young, Gifted and Black, curated by Hank Willis Thomas, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

FNB Joburg Art Fair, with BRUNDYN+, Johannesburg, South Africa

Fashion as Art, The Pavilion, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, curated by Amelie Klein & Okwui Enwezor, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

First Donations, The Pavilion, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art African, Cape Town, South Africa

Do You Have Barbaric Tastes, curated by Nicola De Ribou & Le Commissaires Anonymes, 4TH Edition of POPPOSITIONS, Brussels, Belgium

Forming Impressions: The Ghost in the Machine, Association for Visual Art Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2014

Zigzags, Skulls and Bananas – Oh and Max, W|E Projects, Cape Town, South Africa

Anyway, The Wind Blows, BRUNDYN+, Cape Town, South Africa

FNB Joburg Art Fair, with BRUNDYN+, Johannesburg, South Africa

This is Happening Now, Gayfi eld Creative Spaces, Edinburgh, UK

START Art Fair, with BRUNDYN+, London, UK

MiArt Fair, with BRUNDYN+, Fiera Milano City, Milan, Italy

Infecting the City, Public Arts Festival, Africa Centre, Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town Art Fair, with BRUNDYN+, Cape Town, South Africa

2013

Ceci n’est pas une Summer Show, BRUNDYN+, Cape Town, South Africa

In Good Company, Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town, South Africa

Bazaar, curated by Matty Roodt & Matthew Alexander King, Cape Town, South Africa

2012

Mistakes, curated by Chris Van Eeden, Kerry Chaloner & Matthew King, Cape Town, South Africa

2011

The Night Show, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2010

Sasol New Signatures Award: Top 100 Finalists, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa

Swallow My Pride, Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa

2009

Greatest Hits, Association for Visual Arts (AVA) Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

2008

Print ’08 Myth, Memory and Archive, Bell Roberts Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

FASHION COLLECTIONS & COLLABORATIONS

2019

Neil Barrett and Jody Paulsen - collaboration (Men’s Spring 2020 runway collection), Milan, Italy

2017

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (A/W 2018 Spring Collection, Woolworths Style by SA), South African Menswear Fashion Week, Johannesburg, South Africa

2016

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (A/W 2016 Collection), South African Menswear Fashion Week, Cape Town, South Africa

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (A/W 2016 menswear Collection), Pitti Uomo, Florence, Italy

2015

Adrian Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (S/S 2016 Collection, Vogue Italia: Who is on next), Vogue fashion Dubai Experience, Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen, (S/S 2016 Collection), New York Fashion Week, New York City, USA

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen, (S/S 2016 Collection), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Africa Fashion International, Cape Town, South Africa

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen, (A/W 2015 AK+JP Collection), Cape Town, South Africa

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen, (International Fashion Showcase), London Fashion Week, London, UK

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (S/S 2015 Collection), Design Indaba Fashion Show, Cape Town, South Africa

2014

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (A/W 2014), Edinburgh Fashion Festival, Edinburgh, UK

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (A/W 2014 AK+JP Collection), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Johannesburg, South Africa

2013

Adriaan Kuiters + Jody Paulsen (S/S 2014 AK+JP Collection), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Cape Town, South Africa

AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2016 ImpACT Award for Design, The Arts & Culture Trust, Johannesburg, South Africa
2015 Emerging Designer of the Year, South African Fashion Council, Cape Town, South Africa
2014 Sovereign Art Award, Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa
InAWE Artist Residence Programme, InAweStays, Cape Town, South Africa
2012 Jules Kramer Departmental Scholarship Award, University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town, South Africa
2009 Katherine Harries Print Cabinet Award, University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town, South Africa