Artist Database

Willem Boshoff is sometimes regarded as a ‘word’ artist, and his interest in language, text and meaning frequently forms the focus of his work. He is a master carpenter but works in a variety of media, including sculpture, installation, performance, and printmaking. After deciding to become a sculptor at the age of 15, but then training to become a teacher, he only began exhibiting his artwork publicly at the age of 30, when he had his first exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 1981. Since becoming a full-time practising artist in 1996, Boshoff’s major works include KykAfrikaans (1980), an anthology of concrete poetry, the Blind Alphabet Project (1995), Writing in the Sand (2001) and Garden of Words (a project in progress since 1982). His work has been shown extensively in South Africa and internationally, including at the two Johannesburg Biennales, the São Paulo, Venice, and Havana Biennales, the Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, the White Box Gallery in New York City, and Art Unlimited at the Basel Art Fair. The recipient of numerous awards and grants, Boshoff retains strong ties with many academic institutions as a lecturer and examiner and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Johannesburg in 2008.