Each piece begins with a moment – a glimpse of movement, texture, or stillness found in nature. Through layered mark-making and expressive techniques, these works explore the quiet balance between chaos and control, instinct and intention.
Rooted in both observation and emotion, the collection reflects an ongoing dialogue between the natural world and the artist’s response to it.
I am drawn to process rather than fixed outcomes, allowing each piece to develop through the interaction between material, gesture, and surface.
There is a balance between control and letting go. Layers build over time, marks are added and removed, and the work shifts as it progresses. I see materials as active participants — responding, resisting, and contributing to the final piece.
I am particularly interested in the space where intention meets unpredictability — where the work begins to take its own direction. This exploration is further developed in The Journey, a body of work that reflects on process, transformation, and the evolution of form. View the project.
My work invites a slower way of seeing — where meaning is not immediate, but revealed over time through close attention.
My work explores ideas of growth, repair, and transformation. I am interested in how forms shift over time — how they break down, reconnect, and take on new meaning.
In pieces such as Sutures and Spores, the act of mending becomes visible. Fragments are brought together, not to hide what was broken, but to acknowledge it — allowing space for something new to emerge.
Natural processes such as decay, regeneration, and quiet growth often sit beneath the surface of the work, expressed through layering, texture, and subtle shifts in form.
Process plays a central role in my work. Each piece develops gradually, often through layering, removal, and reworking.
I work with mixed media, allowing materials to react and interact in ways that are not always predictable. This creates a dialogue between intention and chance, where the work evolves over time rather than following a fixed path.
Through this approach, the surface becomes a record of movement, change, and decision — holding traces of what has been added, altered, and left behind.
I also create commissioned works, collaborating with clients to develop pieces that are personal and meaningful. Each commission is approached as a dialogue — shaped by individual ideas, references, and the context in which the work will exist.
While each piece is unique, my process remains grounded in material exploration, layering, and organic development. Rather than replicating a fixed image, I aim to create work that reflects both my artistic language and the essence of the subject or brief.
Commissions may vary in scale and medium, and I work closely with clients throughout the process to ensure the final piece feels considered, authentic, and connected to its intended space.
Exhibitions & Galleries
Tracey Thoolen’s work has been presented in gallery and academic exhibition spaces, including The Viewing Room Art Gallery and Kgorong Gallery at UNISA, Pretoria.
These presentations form part of her ongoing artistic development, reflecting her interest in natural forms, transformation and layered mark-making. Within contemporary exhibition settings, her pieces invite quiet engagement with texture, organic growth and the relationship between nature, memory and constructed form.
Tracey welcomes enquiries from galleries, curators, collectors, interior designers and creative collaborators interested in future exhibitions, private viewings, commissions or acquiring selected works. For exhibition opportunities or further information, please get in contact.
My work has also been selected as part of the 2025 Africa Wildlife Artist of the Year finalists, a competition that highlights contemporary artists engaging with wildlife and environmental themes across the continent.
Being included in this selection reflects my ongoing interest in natural systems and the relationship between observation, material, and form — particularly in how these ideas translate through process-driven work.
