Claudette Schreuders creates carved and painted wooden figures that reflect the ambiguities of the search for an “Africa” identity in the post-apartheid 21st century.
Schreuders’ work often follows the theme of making public that which is private or simply telling stories that have their origins in personal experience. It is this simple honest approach to herself, her world and her work which makes Schreuders’ work so moving and appealing. Schreuders is able to make something universal out of the seemingly trivial and personal. Her honesty and sense of humour are evident in the work.
The prints have become a way of recording sculptures once they have been completed. The high quality and the intensity of her drawings mean that those who cannot afford her sculptures are still able to build up their collections of this remarkable young South African’s work. In 2004, Schreuders was commissioned to do four life size bronzes of South Africa’s Nobel Peace Price Laureates, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Albert Luthuli and F.W. de Klerk for the Waterfront in Cape Town.
Schreuders’ series of lithographs titled Crying in Public was recently purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.