THELMI BEKKER
Bekker was born in Colesberg which is in the barren Northern Cape thirst land of the Karoo, and educated in the nearby town of Phlippolis, the birthplace of Sir Lourens van de Post.
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Without any formal art training, her love for art began at a young age, as a teenager she would paint under the guidance of Rona Steyn. In 2002 Bekker’s career as a South African artist took the fast track to the top with The Crake Gallery in Johannesburg taking her on as one of its artists. Her work is notable for its spirituality and naive interpretation of the subject matter which directly confronts its viewer.
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The style of the British artist, Anora Spence, is of great influence to Bekker. With very simplistic symbolism in her painted works, Bekker depicts life in rural South Africa. Distinctive church steeples are one of the great iconic Karoo town and village features within her body of work, these steeples are as inspiration from Helen Martins statues which are found at the ‘Owlhouse’ in Nieu-Bethesda.
Bekker is a graduate in Library Science from the Free State University and now lives in Harrismith with her quantity surveyor husband.