Artist Database

Hannes Harrs was born in Eckernförde, a town located on the northern coast of Germany by the Baltic Sea. As a child, his uncle - a ship's captain - would bring him artefacts from South Africa, which sparked his fascination with the continent. This fascination led Harrs to settle in Johannesburg in 1950. There he studied at the Johannesburg School of Arts from 1950 to 1956 and held his first solo exhibition at the Egon Guenther Gallery in 1961. Harrs worked in advertising but left this profession to become a full-time artist in the late 1960s. He was an abstract painter, printmaker, and sculptor who was strongly influenced by the art and artefacts of Africa.

Harrs exhibited both locally and internationally throughout his career, in places such as Argentina, Germany, Italy, Namibia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States of America. His works can be found in South African collections such as the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Absa Bank Gallery, Sasol, Pretoria University, and the University of the Witwatersrand. Additionally, he is in the collections of the Rathaus in Eckernförde, Germany; Richemont Collection in Switzerland; and Les Sacks in Los Angeles, California, USA.