Theo Kleynhans

Theo Kleynhans (1965-2026) was an artist, critic and playwright.

Biography

Theo Kleynhans was born on 30 November 1965 in Welkom , where he grew up and went to school at Goudveld High School and Welkom Gymnasium. He studies included art courses at the University of Pretoria, the University of Houston in Texas , the University of South Africa and the Rand Afrikaans University. In addition to his art studies, he is also a trained as a social worker.

He is primarily a award-winning sculptor and painter. His work has been included in many private and public collections in South Africa and abroad and he has held numerous exhibitions of his work in places as divergent as San Francisco, New York and Houston in the United States , Edinburgh in Scotland, London in England and Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Grahamstown, Oudtshoorn, Bellville, Bloemfontein and Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Among his other roles were stints as the coordinator/curator the visual arts components at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK), the Woordfees in Stellenbosch, and the Aardklop Arts Festival at Potchefstroom.

He was for a time the Western Cape chairman of the South African National Association for Artists and chairman of the Bellville Art Association.

Other facets of his work include undertaking the art direction for international television commercials and being a freelance art reviewer for Die Burger newspaper.

He sadly passed away in Porterville on 13 November 2026.