Bruce Backhouse

Bruce Backhouse (b. 1950), based in Johannesburg, is known for painting desert landscapes of the Karoo and Kalahari. His work typically excludes figures, though he also produces satirical drawings and prints with people. He prefers painting on site rather than from photographs, believing in the subconscious evolution of artistic style developed through experience in the landscape.

Bruce Backhouse (b. 1950) is a Johannesburg-based landscape painter. He studied fine art at Rhodes University under Brian Bradshaw from 1970 to 1971. Following his studies, he embarked on a 25-year career in the advertising industry, working as an art director and creative director for various agencies. During this time, he created illustrations for ads, articles, and magazine covers. In 1997, Backhouse became the managing director of Image Bank South Africa, where he worked until 2004 when he decided to pursue a full-time career as an artist.  Backhouse is a landscape painter with a focus on desert landscapes, specifically those found in the Karoo and Kalahari. Although his landscapes are usually devoid of figures, he also creates satirical drawings and prints featuring people. Throughout his career, he has immersed himself in the vast arid interior of South Africa - the Great Karoo and the Kalahari. His paintings are the consequence of the artists' intense visceral relationship with uninhabited aridity devoid of human manipulation. Preferring to work on location, never from photographs, he is a firm believer in the subconscious development of the artists mark with “time in the saddle”.  He has exhibited his work in multiple solo and group exhibitions throughout South Africa, and his pieces are housed in collections belonging to First National Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank, Unisa, and various private collectors.  In 2007, Backhouse was invited to the David Krut Workshop to collaborate with printers there on a new body of work. This was his first time venturing into printmaking and it resulted in a exhibition with David Krut Projects. His most recent work at DKW deals mainly with landscapes in the form of watercolour monotypes. Backhouse aims to blur the line between realism and abstraction, drawing much of his influence from Rothko. He incorporates abstract colour fields into recognisable South African landscapes. Backhouse feels that fusing the two disciplines is important as it does not challenge one to think in terms of clichés, nor does it allow one to overlook the intention of the artwork. In 2009 he returned to DKW to create a further body of work, which was also exhibited by DKP. 

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