Miné Kleynhans is a young emerging artist and creative professional residing in Bloemfontein. As an artist, art project manager and facilitator, Miné participated in various developmental and often large scale international creative programs. Most notably she participated as a lead artist in collaboration with Alex Rinsler in the It’s My City project (www.itsmycity.co.za) during the Vrystaat Arts Festival in 2016. She has also recently returned from an artist residency at Bashnar Creative project, Macedonia, Eastern Europe.
In her studio practice, Miné is dedicated to the innate mysticism of uncovering meaningful (or meaningless?) connections between the arbitrary jumble that presents itself as ‘everyday life’. Consequently, her artworks are often imaginative, playful attempts to convey or typify perceived societal narratives, patterns of emotions, shared dispositions and social inclinations. They employ humour and satire to tease out the rich intersections between magical thinking, ritual, religion, consumer, culture, personal and collective fantasies and game playing. Her medium and artistic techniques vary greatly (hosepipe, ceramic, wood, wood carving and digital drawing) and she is as interested in tactile sensations as visual impressions.
Miné Kleynhans is currently employed at the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery at the University of the Free State where she oversees the execution of exciting experimental artistic ventures in partnership with the Vrystaat Arst Festival.
Competition history:
2019 Merit Award