Elize de Beer is a Cork-based South African visual artist based in Cork, Ireland, working from her studio at Sample-Studios. 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. As a printmaker, book artist and sculptor, she belongs to the printmaking collective “The Printing Girls” ,“Press.On” and is a member of Cork Printmakers. De Beer works as an arts facilitator alongside her artistic practice and is part of Sample-Studios Cork Creative Careers Programme tutor panel. She has been part of numerous group exhibitions nationally and internationally, with two recent solo exhibitions in Cork County Council LHQ Gallery in January- February 2024 and QSS Belfast in March 2024. She also has artworks in both private and institutional collections. Her practice has been supported with awards from the Arts Council and Cork County Council.
de Beer’s practice has been strongly influenced by her dyslexia. Within her expanded print practice, de Beer’s dyslexia became her methodology for creating abstract, conceptual and text-based artworks. It is through trying to understand her relationship and fascination with written language that the objectivity of books and their power became a focal point in her practice. Through print, artist books and sculptures she explores the greater concepts and concerns around books, their use and access of knowledge. Further examining public and private library spaces and archiving practices.