Bio.

Elize de Beer is a South African visual artist based in Cork, Ireland and Johannesburg, South Africa, working from her studio at Sample-Studios. Her multidisciplinary practice spans printmaking, books and sculpture and she is a member of Sample-Studios and Cork Printmakers. Her work has been shown internationally and nationally, including recent 2024 solo shows The Books We Haven’t Read, LHQ Gallery, Cork County Library, Orthography In Disregard, QSS Gallery, Belfast, UK, Archived Waterford, Index Gallery, Waterford and Antarctic Archive, Cork, IE in the Printmakers Studio gallery, Cork, IE. She is currently working towards a solo exhibition at the Lord Majors Pavilion, Cork City, IE with Sample-Studios in March 2026.  She has artworks in both private and institutional collections, including the OPW, Ireland and the University of Cape Town. Alongside her artistic practice de Beer is an arts facilitator and has co- organised Cork Zine since 2022. She graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Arts at the University of Cape Town, South Africa with a BAFA and an honours in Curatorial Studies. Her practice has been supported with awards from the Arts Council, Creative Ireland and Cork County Council.

Artist Statement.

In de Beer’s expanded print practice, she explore and critically engage with archival materials to examine not only the act of archiving but also how archives shape personal narratives and address broader global concerns such as climate change, immigration, land, and the preservation of knowledge. Working with both photographic and written archival sources, de Beer uses these materials to construct new or alternative narratives, drawing on analogue and digital processes to question how histories are recorded, mediated, and re-imagined.


Through these material and visual investigations, her work challenges the hierarchies and systems embedded within archives, publishing, and library structures, particularly in relation to how knowledge is organized, accessed, and valued. She implements a wide range of printmaking techniques, including acid etchings, photoetching and screen printing to create editioned prints and she applies those printmaking sensibilities to create sculptural forms in metal and paper, installations, and artist books. Books play a central role in de Beer’s practice. By interrogating their form, materiality, and function she creates traditional publications, zines, artist books, and large-scale immersive book-based sculptures. Across these varied formats she considers the book as both an object and a site where knowledge can be questioned and restructured.

Artist CV

EXHIBITIONS

Solo Exhibitions

Upcoming:

Sample Studios 2026 Exhibition program at the Lord Major Pavilion, Cork City, March 2026.

Past:

  • Archived Waterford/Dungarvan. May 2025. The Old Market House Art Centre, Dungarvan, Ireland.
  • Antarctic Archive. October 2024. Cork Printmakers Studio Gallery. Cork, Ireland.
  • Archived Waterford. October 2024. Index Gallery, Waterford Library, Waterford, Ireland.
  • The Books We Haven’t Read. January 2024. LHQ Gallery, Cork County Library. Cork, Ireland
  • Orthography In Disregard. February 2024. QSS. Gallery 2. Belfast. Northern Ireland, UK

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • Past, Present, Future Perfect Exhibition. 2024. National Design and Craft Gallery. Kilkenny, Ireland
  • Members Summer Exhibition Sample-Studio. 2024. The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion. Cork City, Ireland
  • Moveable Type. 2024. Cork Public Library. Cork City, Ireland
  • SAMPLELYSIUM. 2024. Elysium Gallery. Swansea, Wales.
  • Winter Salon. 2023. Backwater Artist Group. Cork, Ireland.
  • Cork Printmakers Christmas Exhibition. 2023. Cork Printmakers. Cork, Ireland
  • Halftone Print Fair. 2023. The Library Project. Dublin. Ireland
  • Tøn Gallery. 2023. Dublin, Ireland
  • Sample-Studios Members Exhibition. 2023. Sample Studios. Lord Majors Pavilion. Cork. Ireland.
  • What’s The Word? 2023. David Krut Projects. Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Cork Printmakers Members Show. 2023. Lavit Gallery. Cork City, Ireland
  • Distro, On Artist Publishing. 2023. Curated by Chloe Maguire. Cavan Arts Festival. Cavan, Ireland.
  • Winter Showcase – Tonnta (Waves). 2022. Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre. Skibbereen, Ireland.
  • The Printing Girls. 2022. Lithographic Academy of Sweden. Tidaholm, Sweden.
  • A Sense of Place. 2022. Latitudes Online and The Printing Girls. Online.
  • Sample-Studios Members Exhibition. 2022. Sample-Studios, The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion. Cork, Ireland
  • Inscape. 2022. Johannn van Heerden Art Gallery. Pretoria. South Africa
  • Summer Open Exhibition. 2022. The Courthouse Gallery & Studios. Ennistymon, Co Clare. Ireland.
  • Papertrail. 2022. Lisamore & Accociaste. Johannesburg. South Africa.
  • Creature Feature. 2021, David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • The Printing Girls at SA Print Gallery. 2021. SA Print Gallery. Cape Town, South Africa.
  • The Printing Girls 2021, 2021, The Art Room, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • Mother Nature in Monotype, 2021, White River Gallery, South Africa
  • Amplifica: A Medley of Moods in Miniature, 2021, KKNK, online exhibition, South Africa.
  • The Troubled Archive, 2021, The Labyrinth Project, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • Pictures Worth A Thousand Words, 2020, David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • Artist Book Exhibition, 2020, The Project Space, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • Authentic Marks, 2020, Shaghaf Group, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Residency

Upcoming – San Francisco Artist Studios with Sample Studios. June 2025

Upcoming – Triskel/Sample Project resiedency. November 2025

Caboodle, Studio 12 Project Residency 2024, Backwater Artist Group, Cork Ireland.

Art Fairs

  • Turbine Art Fair, 2023, David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Halftone Print Fair. 2022. The Library Project. Dublin, Ireland
  • Turbine Art Fair, 2021, Unearthed Project, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • Turbine Art Fair, 2019, David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Collections

  • UCC. Special Collections Library. Cork. Ireland
  • OPW, Ireland
  • University of Cape Town Permanent Collection, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Shaghai Group Permanent Collection, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • The Project Space Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.
  • The Printing Girls. South Africa

EDUCATION

Studies

  • BA in Fine Arts – Majoring in Printmaking and Art Theory. Graduated in 2015 from the University of Cape Town, Michaelis School of Fine Arts.
  • BA Honours – Curatorship Specialization Graduated in 2016 from the University of Cape Town, Michaelis School of Fine Arts.

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

  • Sample Studios Educational Program, Creative Careers Panelist,  2023 and 2024. Workshop Facilitator
  • Cork Zine Fest, 2022 – present. Coordinator and Workshop Facilitator
  • STAMP Festival, 2022 and 2023. Workshop Facilitator
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