Bio

Simon Attwood (b.1997 Bedfordview, Johannesburg) is a young South African artist. He spent much of his childhood in his grandmother’s (Judith Mason) painting studio and his father’s printshop (The Artists’ Press), where he learnt about relief printing techniques that are a significant part of his work today. Attwood grew up in rural Mpumalanga and his work relates to the province’s landscape. Outside of art-making he is also involved in caring for the landscape as a rock art researcher, amateur botanist and the Restoration Manager for the Upper Blyde Restoration Project with the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve. Attwood has helped to find and bring to scientific attention several rare plant species from the region including Drimiopsis attwoodii, Syncolostemon attwoodii, Thorncroftia attwoodii and Ceropegia meveana. His artwork is an extension of the attention and care that he has for the landscape and its biodiversity. In 2017 he graduated from the international baccalaureate diploma program at Waterford Kamhlaba United World College in Eswatini.  He graduated with distinction from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in May 2022. His 2022 undergraduate thesis on the rock paintings of Mpumalanga can be accessed with this link. His work has been displayed at the Print Center New York in 2025 and in exhibitions including a two man show with Cyril Chiburre, The Unseen, at the White River Gallery in 2024, the FALL 2021 Undergraduate Exhibition at the SAIC Galleries in Chicago and The Garden of My Mind exhibition in 2023 at Gallery 2 in Johannesburg, South Africa.