Tinus Horn is one of South Africa’s leading caricature artists with an ancestry that can be traced back to Germany, France, Holland, Malaysia and Africa. He is passionate about art, life and laughter, and this is reflected in his exuberant paintings and sculptures, in a style he calls ‘comical cubism’.
His work has appeared in more than 30 publications, and he has done hundreds of gift caricatures on commission in a career that has spanned 25 years.His clients include M-Net, BMW, kykNET, Investec, the SABC, Avusa, Deloitte, Freemantle Media and many others. He is an expert at lightning-fast caricatures at corporate events, weddings and parties. He produces between 15 and 20 caricatures per hour.
His gift caricatures can be created in a wide range of media – oils, watercolour, pen and ink and digital. Prices are determined by medium, size and complexity. Horn is also an accomplished portrait painter, with works in numerous public and private collections. “I strive for a gentle, comical poetry,” he explained in a recent newspaper interview. He often develops a piece intuitively, with very little planning or preparatory work. “I start with a vague idea or a doodle. The painting that emerges may show no resemblance whatsoever to the original design.” Horn claims to have his dark side (if he has one) firmly under control. But while many of the paintings are upbeat, a tinge of sadness often lurks below the surface.
He lists George Grosz, Otto Dix, Max Beckmann and Picasso among the major influences on his work.
Horn’s sculptures, carved out of indigenous woods, are an eccentric fusion of African carvings and Eastern European puppetry. “I never set out to work in a particular style. But I live in Africa, and I guess Europe is in my veins.”
Exhibitions:
1990: To Hell and Back, with Alastair Findlay and Derek Bauer, Gallery on the Market
1992: The Promised Land, with Alastair Findlay, Rembrandt van Rijn Gallery
1999: Holy Shit, with Alastair Findlay, Thompson Gallery
2002: Faces on the Shelf, Solo, Boekehuis
2006: Gentle Demons, Furious Angels, Solo, Bamboo Gallery
2009: The Wages of Love, with Martinus van Tee
Awards:
Merit Grant, National Arts Council, 1999
Top 10, Kempton Park National exhibition, 2000
Education:
Advanced Diploma in Fine Art, University of the Witwatersrand, 2006.