Monique Heystek

I’m a visual artist based in Cape Town.

I create bold, cubist-inspired works that reframe the human figure, especially the masculine, through a lens of dignity, strength, and presence.

My work turns its gaze to the human figure, specifically the masculine. In an era where digital connection replaces community and few truly look at one another, I want my artworks to make people look again.

 

As a female artist and life drawing host, my exploration of the male form comes from a place of agency. To me, a well-sculpted, muscular body is not mere ornament, it is a sacred emblem of virility. It embodies humanity’s will to shape not only the body but the world around it. To me it represents hope.

 

Through oil pastel and oil paint and the raw, in-the-moment experiences of life drawing, I depict men not as stereotypes or relics of outdated power, but as beings with the capacity for beauty and strength. My portraits are invitations to rise, to meet the gaze, to carry oneself with purpose.