Santie Cronje

A painter and storyteller, a migrant and a traveller.

New Zealand has been my home since 1999, but South Africa is where my story began.

Living across hemispheres and moving between places has shaped how I see and make art.

I paint memory, place, belonging and the things we carry with us. Sometimes the story is recognisable; sometimes it's reduced to colour, structure, fragments and feeling.

After several years of running my own public-facing studio and later directing Deciduus Gallery until 2026, I'm back in the studio, inspired by the possibilities ahead. The places I've lived and the houses I've called home are all material, and there's plenty left to tell.

Belonging - a new series

Belonging is the first small release of a new body of work I hope to continue exploring for some time. This collection is a personal reflection on migration, memory, and place—marking 27 years since my story began as a migrant from South Africa, alongside the realization that I have called 27 different houses home throughout my life.

In this series, the house becomes far more than a painted structure—it is an archetypal symbol and a vessel for meaning. Here, new original paintings stand alongside revisited pieces from the past, tracing the quiet ways we anchor ourselves.

Release Date: Sunday afternoon, 25 October — launching first via newsletter.

Be among the first to view the collection, read the stories behind each piece, and access the release.

Explore

Painting

Collage, Paper & Print

Sold Works

Studio News

Occasional news from my studio. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

Personal Collection | 2010 - 2025

A selection of paintings currently available directly from my studio, bringing together personal works from my collection alongside more recent paintings. I am currently developing a new body of work, with the next collection to be released end of November.