About Ryno

Get to know Ryno

"I love art, and I love being different, and hopefully my work conveys that."

Brief history

Ryno van Eeden was born and raised in South Africa, and is of Flemish-Dutch and French-Italian descent. He later moved to the United Kingdom where he still resides. Ryno grew up on the outskirts of Pretoria, in the small town of Hartbeespoort, which was filled with renowned South African artists who influenced and inspired him to develop his artistic abilities from an early age. He has been painting and sketching for over 25 years. Ryno's parents are avid art collectors, and he grew up in a home where art was appreciated and visible.

Ryno is a resident artist at the Walford Mill Education Trust in Dorset, where his primary studio is situated. Visitors are welcome by prior arrangement.

He is mostly a self-taught artist, also having had the benefit of private tutelage from celebrated artists such as Elly Holm, Cornelia Holm, Edoardo Villa and Bettie Cilliers-Barnard.

Ryno is especially inspired by the works of his favourite artists such as William Kentridge, Ernest Mancoba, Olaf Bischoff, Walter Battiss, Dumile Feni, Maggie Loubser, Noria Mabasa, Nicholas Hlobo, Willem Pretorius, and Jono Dry. There are, however, a multitude of artists that influence, and fuel his passion for art.

He participated in his first art exhibition in 1992 at the age of eight, at the Hartbeespoort Arts Festival, where his artistic talent was first recognized. He won a gold medal for his painting, "Frogs at a pond". The painting was also selected for the Transvaal department of Education's year calendar of 1993, and featured as the cover for the month of April.

Ryno held his first exhibition two years later in 1994, aged ten, at the Voortrekker Monument Museum, in collaboration with the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuur Vereniging (Afrikaans Language and Culture Society). It featured two works, the first of which was a painting called "Moedertaal" (Mother Tongue), and the other a clay sculpture called "Moeg" (Tired), depicting the face of a voortrekker man, weeping for the loss of life after battle.

In 2002, Ryno's painting called "Africa renewed" was showcased for four weeks at the National Gallery in Cape Town. Later that year, Ryno attended master classes in abstract art with the Italian sculptor, Edoardo Villa. During these sessions at Villa's home in Johannesburg, Ryno produced four pieces, one of which depicts the evolution of man. The University of Pretoria showcased this work in the Eduardo Villa Museum (previously called the Old Merensky Library).

Ryno received a scholarship to study at The University of Pretoria where, in 2003, he had the privilege of being introduced to world-renowned artist, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard. Although Cilliers-Barnard was retired and no longer offered apprenticeships, she agreed for Ryno to spend time with her at her home studio in Pretoria for a few days, where she encouraged him to explore the fusion of abstract and contemporary styles. One of the pieces he created whilst under her tutelage was called "Escaping knowledge", which won a gold medal at the Standard Bank SA Young Artists Awards in 2003.

In 2008, Ryno's work, called the "The African Renaissance", became part of a new collection for the office of the presidency at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Another of his works, called Vuvuzela, depicting the celebration of unity during the 2010 World Cup Football Tournament in South Africa, was incorporated into the SA Parliamentary Art Collection in Cape Town.

Ryno continues to produce artworks on commission for private galleries and collectors. For inquiries, please contact us or send an email to info@artryno.com.

Apart from creating art, Ryno also loves collecting pieces from other artists. His home and studio are filled with art from all walks of life, and he often does exchanges. Check out his private art collection.

His other interests include music, travel, exercise and science

Apart from being a visual artist, Ryno is also a musician, holding qualifications in Music from The Royal Schools of Music, Trinity College London, and the University of South Africa. Since an early age, he has played the violin, having performed with several orchestras such as the UP Symphony, The Pretoria Symphony, The Johannesburg Symphony, and the Pretoria Youth Philharmonic. Ryno also sang in several award winning choirs such as the North-Gauteng Youth Choir, UP Youth Choir, TUKS Camerata, and most recently with the Akustika Chamber Singers, currently ranked the second best choir in the world by Interkultur.

Ryno loves the theatre and regularly attends live performances of musicals, operas and various other plays and concerts.

He tries to travel as often as he can and, although he loves a bit of luxury, he prefers the low-key and off-the-beaten-track style of travel. Bring on the dodgy dives, alleyways, and hidden local hot spots.

In his other spare time, Ryno runs marathons, hikes wherever he can, and loves to go paddle boarding.

Ryno loves cooking and feeding friends and family and can often be found in the kitchen creating new dishes.

Ryno has an analytical side and also works and consults as a Senior Business Architect, with tertiary qualifications in Business Management, Information Systems Design, Physics, Mathematics in Statistics and Economics, and Informatics.