Ruan Jooste was born in 1988 and raised in Nigel, a small town in Gauteng, southeast of Johannesburg, South Africa. From a young age, he was drawn to creative expression as a means of understanding the world around him. He initially pursued a passion for fashion design, which later evolved into photography as his first vehicle for visual storytelling. Self-taught, he developed a refined sensitivity to composition, light, and narrative tension, skills that continue to underpin his current digital painting practice. This foundation in design and photography laid the groundwork for his distinctive digital art practice, where realism and subtle surreal undertones converge into layered, meticulously detailed compositions.
Over time, his fashion and photography background merged into a cohesive visual language, enabling him to construct artworks that balance emotional depth, narrative, and visual storytelling. His works often explore themes of memory, displacement, vulnerability, and the quiet complexities of contemporary identity, reflecting moments of stillness within movement and capturing resilience and beauty in everyday life.
Having lived and worked in Pretoria, Toronto, Johannesburg, Phuket, and now Cape Town, Jooste’s nomadic experiences inform his global perspective and reinforce his belief in shared human experience: “As human beings, we are more alike than we are different.” These diverse cultural environments have profoundly shaped his worldview and artistic philosophy.
In 2021, Jooste held his first solo exhibition in Cape Town, which received outstanding critical and public acclaim. His work has since been featured on the covers of Sunday Times Lifestyle and Art Times, and in publications such as House & Leisure and Dossier Magazine. Internationally, he has exhibited at the AKAA Art Fair in Paris, as well as in New York, Austria, and Germany.
Central to Jooste’s practice is a commitment to craftsmanship within the digital medium. Working with a drawing tablet, he constructs each artwork stroke by stroke, a process that can take weeks or months without relying on filters or artificial intelligence. This patient construction emphasizes digital painting as a contemporary extension of traditional fine art.
His art is part of the official RMB collection and has been featured in a Strauss & Co. auction, marking significant milestones in his professional journey. In 2025, he presented his works in the dual exhibition Conflux at 33BREE, further cementing his presence in the contemporary art landscape.
Through his work, Ruan Jooste seeks to bridge divides and emphasize shared humanity. He portrays his subjects as members of a shared tribe defined by courage, positivity, and joy, reminding audiences of the deep commonalities that unite people beyond superficial differences.
He is represended by The Travelling Art Gallery as well as The Artists Gallery.
