Willem Boshoff

For the rugby league international, see Willem Boshoff (rugby league).
Willem Boshoff
Born 1951
Nationality South African
Known for Visual art
Website
www.willemboshoff.com

Willem Boshoff (born 1951) is a South African artist known primarily for his conceptual installations. He is one of South Africa's foremost contemporary artists and regularly exhibits nationally and internationally.[1]

Born in Johannesburg, Boshoff trained as a teacher at the Johannesburg College of Art before pursuing a diploma in fine art, with an emphasis on printmaking, in 1980; he received a master's degree in sculpture from Technikon Witwatersrand in 1984. He has made study trips to Austria and Germany in 1982 as well as to England, Wales, and Scotland in 1993.[1] He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg in 2008.[2]

His installations are frequently based on the exploration of language and are created in materials ranging from stone to paper to sand.[2]

Exhibitions

Boshoff's work was first exhibited in 1981, and in 1985 as part of a travelling group exhibition of South African Art in South Africa and to West Germany, titled 'Tributaries'.[3] His work has subsequently been exhibited in numerous worldwide exhibitions, such as: the 1st Johannesburg Biennial (Africus), 1995;[4] the 23rd International Biennial of São Paulo, 1996;[5] the 2nd Johannesburg Biennial, 1997;[6] 'Memory, Intimacy Traces' (Intimas Memorias Marcas) curated by Fernando Alvim at Pavilhãoa Branco, at the Museu da Cidade in Lisbon, Portugal and touring to the Museum of Modern Art, Antwerp, Belgium in 2000. In 1999, his installation 'Garden of words II' was exhibited at the 8th Floralies Internationales, Nantes, France and his work was also exhibited as part of a group show titled: 'Conceptualist Art: Points of Origin 1950s–1980s' at the Queens Museum of Art, New York and travelled to the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis in 2000. In the same year his work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Antwerp, Belgium; The White Box Gallery, Chelsea, New York; Havana Biennial, Cuba; Bildmuseet, Umea, Sweden; Via Cesare Correnti, Milan, Italy; Museo Nacional, Centro deArte, Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain (as part of the exhibition: Visiones del Sur: No es sólo lo que ves: pervirtiendo minimalismo, curated by Gerardo Mosquera).

In 2001 his work was shown at Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art (Den Frie Udstillingsbygning), Copenhagen, Denmark; Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany (as part of the group exhibition: 'Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa') travelling to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA. His work was also seen at the 49th Venice Biennial as part of the exhibition Authentic/Ex-centric: Africa In and Out Africa curated by Olu Oguibe and Okwui Enwezor and at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam as part of the curated exhibition: 'Unpacking Europe' by Salah Hassan and Iftikhar Dadi (13 December 2001 – 24 February 2002). In 2002, his installation: 'Garden of Words II' was exhibited at Vandskel Kunstcentret, Silkeborg Bad, Denmark; at Camouflage, Observatorio, Brussels and in Switzerland in 2003. In 2003 his work was also exhibited at Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Boston, USA; Galerie Asbæk, Copenhagen, Denmark as part of the exhibition: 'Sted/Place' and Musee departemental de la Haute-Saône Albert Demard, Champlitte, France.

2005 saw his work exhibited at the 'Textures' exhibition at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA and in 2008 his work formed part of an exhibition curated by Stichting Sonsbeek in Arnhem, Netherlands.

In 2009 he presented a performance at Art Basel, titled: 'The Big Druid in his Cubicle'; in 2010 his work was exhibited at Kunsthalle, Göppingen, Germany in a group exhibition 'Happy End' curated by Annett Reckert; Daimler Contemporary Gallery, Berlin as part of 'Ampersand' curated by Christian Ganzenberg and an installation at Hyde Park Shopping Centre, London, UK.

Online reviews/ Listings

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sue Williamson (August 2001). "Willem Boshoff". ARTTHROB. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ecotopian States. "Willem Boshoff". Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Review: 'A feature on an artist in the public eye' on Artthrob by Sue Williamson, Archive: Issue No. 48, August 2001. See: Curriculum Vitae, selected exhibitions "WILLEM BOSHOFF". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Review: 'Inside Out' in Frieze Magazine, by Ruth Rosengarten, Issue 23 June–August 1995 "WILLEM BOSHOFF". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  5. ↑ News: 'The Sao Paulo Biennale opens October 2' on Artthrob "WILLEM BOSHOFF". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Book: '10 Years 100 Artists: Art in a Democratic South Africa' pg 435, Biennials/ Festivals/ Mega-Exhibitions WILLEM BOSHOFF. Retrieved 18 July 2012.

See also