Theo Kleynhans was born on 30 November 1965 in Welkom , where he grew up and went to school at Goudveld High School and Welkom Gymnasium. He studies at the University of Pretoria, University of Houston in Texas , University of South Africa and the Rand Afrikaans University . In addition to his art studies, he is also a trained social worker. The Klein Karoo National Arts Festival ( KKNK ) appointed him as coordinator of the visual arts for three years and later he was curator of the Woordfees' art route in Stellenbosch. For about eight years he has been involved in the Aardklop Arts Festivalat Potchefstroom, after which he was appointed festival curator for the arts for this festival in 2013. He is laying down this post after the 2014 festival to have more time to devote to his own art. Furthermore, he is also involved in the art direction for international television commercials. For a time he served as Western Cape chairman of the South African National Association for Artists. He is a freelance art reviewer for Die Burger and chairman of the Bellville Art Association. He is a sculptor and painter and holds exhibitions of his work in San Francisco , New York and Houston in the United States , Edinburghin Scotland, London in England and Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Grahamstown, Oudtshoorn , Bellville, Bloemfontein and Stellenbosch in South Africa. His solo exhibition at the KKNK of 2009 is called " Onthou / Vergeet " and in it he reflects on man's inability to recall memories in full. His work has been included in many private and public collections in South Africa and abroad. In 2014, he exhibited ninety different pottery plates at the Cape Town Art Fair. He has won many awards for his art, including the Dreams Award, the Plascon Painting Award and the SA Breweries Sculpture Award. He was also a finalist for the Absa Atelier Awards, the MomentumLife Awards and the APSACeramic Awards. Initially, he preferred to live in industrial areas due to his irregular working hours and his penchant for hard rock music while working. He lives for a time in Bellville South in a massive apartment on top of a building's roof, but then buys a dilapidated house in Boston in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. He is restoring this house and decorating it with his art and numerous other works of art.