Paul Johan du Toit (31 October 1965 – 9 January 2014) was a South African artist, working in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

and mixed media. His exhibits have been displayed globally. Most notably, three of his sculptures were selected for the 2001

Florence Biennale The Biennale Internazionale Dell’Arte Contemporanea, also known as the Florence Biennale is an art exhibition held in Florence, Italy. Since 1997 it has been held every two years in the exhibition spaces of the Fortezza da Basso, Florence. The li ...

. Among the many awards he has received is a medal from the city of Florence in the Biennale Internationale Dell'arte Contemporanea. He was nominated for the Daimler Chrysler Sculpture Award of 2002. Paul was recently invited to work with former president

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and international musicians on the 46664 campaign.

Biography

Paul Johan du Toit was born on 31 October 1965 in Johannesburg. He grew up in Mayfair Johannesburg and his time was spent between his artist aunt, Elizabeth van der Sandt, and his father's workshop, where he used to create sculptures out of electrical gadgets while his aunt tutored him in oil painting techniques. In 1984 Paul du Toit matriculated and in 1985 he was conscripted to the South African Air Force where he used the time to do some carpentry, make his first bronze work of an airplane and study computer science part-time through Pretoria Technikon. When he left the army he worked as a computer programmer In 1988, the company Paul du Toit worked for went into liquidation and he worked in a boring job at the bank to make ends meet. All this time he painted at night to keep his artistic flair alive. In 1992, visit to Florence in Italy was to be a turning point in Paul's artistic career. So inspired was he by Michelangelo's David, that he returned fired with commitment to make his art work. This influence was further fuelled by their trip to Paris two years later, where the exposure to a group of sculptures made from polyurethane foam metal drums and plastic at the back of the Louvre, really resonated with him. He returned to South Africa and started making sculptures in his garage, from discarded materials. One of these won him the 'Best Artist with No Formal Training' at the Association of Arts in Bellville Cape. In his Hout Bay studio Paul started using an

impasto ''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...

technique (thick industrial paste into which he scratched lines and images) which was to become intrinsic to his style of automatic scribbling. At this stage he also used his computer know-how to optimise his use of the internet and connect to the international art scene. In 2014, du Toit died of cancer. He was 48.

Art career + Art work

1997 Paul sold his first paintings locally. He also launched his website and his work was spotted by a gallery owner in Paris who invited him to exhibit in 1998. Paul decided to make art his career as he became part of a group exhibition at the Groot Constantia Art Gallery. 1998 was the year Paul hit the international circuit with his paintings being exhibited in many international and local exhibition. He appeared on the CNN International Art Club and held his first solo exhibition in Paris. 1999 marked a continuation of the local and international interest with shows in Moscow, Edinburgh and with local corporates buying some of Paul's work. 2000 was a coup for Paul as he was selected by Professor to be one of the 70 over 2000 – a noteworthy achievement. This led to a solo and group exhibition in Cape Town as well as exhibitions in the Netherlands and France. 2000 heralded the beginning of Paul's wooden sculptures. In 2001 he was nominated to exhibit works at the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art where he won 5th place in the sculpture section. He was also nominated for the Daimler Chrysler Award for South African Sculpture. He held two solo exhibitions one at the Holland Art Fair in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

and the other in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Gallery

File:Planet Paul (logo).gif, PlanetPaul logo File:Well-travelled (Paul du Toit painting).jpg, Well travelled, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 2m x 2m, paul du toit File:Balance by Paul du Toit.jpg, Balance, 2001, impasto, 120 x 140 cm, Paul du Toit

References

Paul du Toit interview
Indagare Magazine NYC, 2009.

by Kresta Tyler-Johnson

at 34Long Fine Art, Cape Town.
Paul du Toit ''ArtFilms''

at Contemporary Africa Database.
''"See the art on Paul’s Planet"''
University of Johannesburg exhibition profile, 14 September 2006. * Bays, Jeff
''"PlanetPaul"''
NY Arts Magazine, 1 October 2006.

[press release at AbsoluteArts.com, 26 January 2005.
"Paul du Toit"
litnet
Web 2.0 exhibition
Web 2.0 Art Exhibition in France
"Sunday Times"
Interview

External links

Official website
of Paul du Toit

of South African artist Paul du Toit

dedicated to the art of Paul du Toit

Paul in the studio at the Dieu Donne Papermill New York City {{DEFAULTSORT:du Toit, Paul Contemporary painters 1965 births 2014 deaths South African painters South African male painters Artists from Cape Town