Artists

Born in Cape Town in 1975, Karlien de Villiers is an artist, illustrator, and lecturer at Stellenbosch University. She received a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration from Stellenbosch University in 1997, where she studied under Conrad Botes and Anton Kannemeyer. After graduating she worked at an advertising agency before travelling through the USA and Europe for 2 years. She returned in 2000 and pursued a Master’s degree in Information Design at Pretoria University. De Villiers published short comics in Bittercomix, a comic book created by Botes and Kannemeyer, and the autobiographical graphic novel My Mother was a Beautiful Woman. Her work has also been included in local and international publications such as Between 10and5, Comic Art Africa, and Mail & Guardian. She received the UNESCO-Aschberg Bursary for Visual Arts in 2011. De Villiers has participated in numerous local and international solo and group shows.