COBUS HAUPT

Cobus Haupt is a full-time sculptor based in Pretoria. He was born in Witbank, South Africa in 1976 and moved to Pretoria to study Fine Art at the Tshwane University of Technology. He studied sculpture under Ian Redelinghuis, Guy du Toit and others. Egon Tanya first introduced him to the possibilities of figurative sculpture.

Haupt's bronze sculptures offer a new take on a time-honoured Western sculptural tradition. He works directly from live models, creating forms in clay that he then casts in bronze. By leaving bumps and imperfections unresolved, Haupt highlights the casting process, making his work as much about the transparency of method as it is about the human figure.

He was one of the winners of the PPC Cement Competition in 1999 and again in 2000. In 2001 he won the Kempton Park Tembisa Fine Arts Award and has since lectured at the Tshwane University of Technology as well as Unisa.

His work has been exhibited across the country, including in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, and is held in the Webber Wentzel Collection.