SMAC Gallery is pleased to return to Art Basel Hong Kong with a two-person presentation of new work by South African painters, Baba Tjeko and Simon Stone. Find us at Booth 3C06 in the Galleries Sector from the 26th to the 29th of March 2026.

Baba Tjeko

南非跨界別藝術家Baba Tjeko的作品風格大膽且精細，探索文化記憶與身份認同。他融合當地傳統與數位技術，構圖橫跨幾何抽象、具象、表現及超現實主義。Tjeko的創作形式多樣，包括版畫、素描、平面設計、油畫與插畫等。透過巴索托族壁畫傳統藝術，詮釋歐洲中心主義 

(Eurocentrism)美學，從而塑造當代黑人身份認同。在現今由數位媒介主導的社會，他所創作的單色調肖像作品，不但喚起了自身與集體記憶，更呈現出簡樸、仁慈、愛與社群的價值。這些複雜且宛如拼貼藝術般的作品，揉合文化遺產與當代藝術，探索傳統、現代性和身份認同如何結合起來。

Tjeko 在 1985 年出生於南非弗雷德福特，在帕里斯長大，現於當地居住及創作。他畢業於南非國家數位媒體學院 (The National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa，簡稱NEMISA)，取得創意多媒體國家文憑 (主修廣告設計)，其後在公立及私人機構擔任平面設計師。過往主要合作項目包括，MINI非洲限量版Clubman車型宣傳企劃，以及Nespresso咖啡粉囊「環球之旅」系列推廣企劃。Tjeko現正全心投入藝術創作。近期聯展包括：2025年，美國巴塞爾藝術展邁阿密海灘展會；2024年，南非約翰內斯堡緯度藝術合作中心 (Latitudes Centre for the Arts Collaboration)舉辦的 “Hold That Thought” 展覽。Tjeko的眾多作品被納入為公共及企業藝術藏品，包括南非開普敦斯皮爾藝術信託基金會 (Spier Arts Trust)，以及南非約翰內斯堡市立藝術收藏館。

1主要由南非萊索托國和自由邦省的女性傳承，象徵著文化認同與自然和諧，是傳統農村建築的重要特色。

2主張以歐洲價值觀、美學和歷史框架，作為解讀世界的標準，同時將非歐洲文化邊緣化。

South African multidisciplinary artist Baba Tjeko explores cultural memory and identity through bold, meticulously composed works. Combining traditional and digital techniques, his compositions span geometric abstraction, figuration, expressionism, and the surreal. Working across printmaking, drawing, graphic design, painting, and illustration, Tjeko engages in dialogue with Basotho visual traditions and Eurocentric aesthetics, examining how heritage shapes contemporary Black identity. His monochromatic portraits evoke personal and communal memory, reflecting values of simplicity, kindness, love, and community in a digitally mediated society. Tjeko’s work merges heritage with contemporary expression, producing complex, collage-like compositions that interrogate the intersections of tradition, modernity, and identity.

Born in Vredefort, South Africa, in 1985, Tjeko grew up in Parys, South Africa, where he currently lives and works. He graduated from the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) with a National Diploma in Creative Multimedia, majoring in Advertising Design, and later worked as a graphic designer in both the private and public sectors. Notable collaborations include MINI for the release of the African Limited Edition Clubman and Nespresso on their World Explorations campaign. Tjeko now devotes himself to his fine arts practice. Recent group exhibitions include Basel Miami at Miami Beach, USA (2025) and Hold That Thought at the Latitudes Centre for the Arts Collaboration in Johannesburg, South Africa (2024). Tjeko’s work forms part of numerous public and corporate collections, including the Spier Arts Trust in Cape Town, South Africa, and the City of Johannesburg Art Collection, South Africa.

Simon Stone

南非畫家Simon Stone以神秘並置美學和非線性敘事的「釘板」構圖，最為人熟知。他採用跨界別的創作手法，在木板、畫布、紙板及鋼材等媒介上，進行油畫、水彩及蠟畫創作。在他的作品，你會看見遠去的風景、城市景觀、孤獨的身影與格格不入的物件，共存於層疊的繪畫場域之中。當中反覆穿插著各種裝飾元素 (motifs)，包括線條、孔洞與刻意留白的停頓，鋪陳出隱晦的敘事脈絡。圖像和留白，存在與被遺忘，記憶及想像，以上種種建構成Stone獨一無二的創作實踐。

Stone在1952年生於南非的萊迪格雷，目前在開普敦生活及工作。1976年畢業於開普敦大學米氏美術學院 (Michaelis School of Fine Art)，其後前往意大利深造。1993年，他獲南非約翰內斯堡藝術館 (Johannesburg Art Gallery ，簡稱JAG) 頒發「終身成就獎」。2013年，Stone在當地Standard Bank Gallery舉辦大型回顧展。近期個展包括：2024年在南非開普敦SMAC畫廊舉辦的“Mid Stream”；2021年南非約翰內斯堡SMAC 藝廊舉辦的“New Paintings”。他亦參與在ARTMeetsTV近期紀錄片製作《Imagining Stone》當中。重要聯展包括，2012年在南非開普敦SMAC畫廊舉辦的“PAINT I: Contemporary South African Painting 2002–2012”；2008年，南非開普敦伊茲科國家美術館 (Iziko South African National Gallery) 舉辦的“Intimate Distance”；1995年美國華盛頓子午線國際中心 (Meridian International Center) 舉辦的“Panoramas of Passage: Changing Landscapes of South Africa”。Stone的眾多作品被納入為公共藝術藏品，包括南非開普敦伊茲科國家美術館，以及美國華盛頓史密森尼國立非洲藝術博物館 (Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Collection)。

1 將對比元素並列的當代藝術手法，旨在激發新意義，常用以挑戰社會既定觀念。

2 透過並置創作元素，打破時空連續性，表達主題性的一致性，而非情節的連續。

3 Art Meets 是一家由非洲人主導的數位新創企業，致力於革新當代視覺藝術的體驗。節目內容則聚焦講述藝術家的生平與創作。

South African painter Simon Stone is best known for his pin-board compositions that favour enigmatic juxtapositions and non-linear narratives. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, Stone works in oil, watercolour, and encaustic across panel, canvas, cardboard, and steel. Receding landscapes, cityscapes, solitary figures, and incongruous objects coexist within layered pictorial fields, punctuated by recurring motifs—lines, holes, and deliberate pauses—that structure elliptical threads. In Stone’s practice, meaning emerges in the interstices between image and absence, memory and imagination, and presence and erasure.

Born in Lady Grey, South Africa, in 1952, Stone currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. He graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 1976 and later continued his education in Italy. Stone received a Lifetime Merit Award from the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1993, and presented a major museum retrospective at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include Mid Stream at SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2024) and New Paintings at SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (2021). The documentary film Imagining Stone, featuring the artist’s life and work, was recently produced by ARTMeetsTV. Notable group presentations include Panoramas of Passage: Changing Landscapes of South Africa at the Meridian International Center, Washington, DC, USA (1995); Intimate Distance at the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2008); and PAINT I: Contemporary South African Painting 2002–2012 at SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2012). Stone’s work forms part of numerous public collections, including the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Collection, Washington, DC, USA.