Frans Mulder was born in 1955 and educated in Cradock, Eastern Cape, where his passion for artistic creativity was moulded. He received a Diploma in Fine Arts at the Port Elizabeth Technikon in 1975.
He was involved with interior and design until he moved to Johannesburg in 1980, where he was involved in space planning for hotels, and then to New York City, where he was director of design in an interior space planning studio.
On his return to South Africa in 1989, he lived and worked for a while in Nelspruit, close to the world-renowned Kruger National Park. It is here that he started painting wild life, while owning and running several restaurants (receiving 3 “Top Ten” nominations), guesthouses and a pottery studio in the Northern and Eastern parts of South Africa until his move to Napier in 2015, where he resided until his death on 3rd June 2019.
Frans expressed his passion for animals in his wild life paintings and focused his attention on the survival of the endangered wild dogs. These are the subjects of most of his works and are taken from live interaction with the animals.
Subsequently involved in Architectural Space Planning in South Africa, and also did a stint in New York in the 1980s as Director of Design. On returning to South Africa, he then spent time running his own restaurants (receiving 3 “Top Ten” nominations) and a pottery studio until 2004. He then restored a jail as his studio, and returned to art.
He exhibited his work throughout South Africa, and many of his artworks are now in collections and homes in both South Africa and abroad (Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UK, USA and Zambia).
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Exhibitions - Solo and Group
2005
- Moreson Wine Estate, Franschoek (Solo)
- Blue Dolphin Hotel, East London (Solo)
- Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town (Group)
- River Lodge, Upington (Solo)
2006
- Ron Belling Gallery, Port Elizabeth (Solo)
2007
- Lievland Wine Estate, Stellenbosch (Solo)
2009
- ArtEC, Port Elizabeth (Group – Winner)
2011
- National Arts Festival, Grahamstown (Group)
- William Humphrey’s Gallery, Kimberley (Solo)
- Artists for Conservation, Vancouver, Canada (Group) – Exhibition and Catalogue
2012
- Artists for Conservation, Vancouver, Canada (Group) – Virtual Exhibition and Catalogue
- Montage Gallery, Port Elizabeth (Solo)
2014
- Dorp Straat Gallery, Stellenbosch (Group)
- Artists for Conservation, Vancouver, Canada (Group) – Virtual Exhibition and Catalogue
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2015
- is art Gallery, Franschhoek (Group)
2016
- Rossouw Modern Gallery, Hermanus (Solo)
- is art Gallery, Franschhoek (Group)
2017
- is art Gallery, Franschhoek (Solo)
- David Shepherd Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year (Group) - Virtual Exhibition and Catalogue
- DF Contemporary, Woodstock (Group)
- Rossouw Modern Gallery, Hermanus (Solo)
- Grande Provence Gallery, Franschhoek (Group)
2018
- Imibala Gallery, Somerset-West (Group)
- Grande Provence Gallery, Franschhoek (Group)
2019
- Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Durbanville (Group)
- Breytenbach Gallery, Wellington (Dual, with Ceramic Matters)
- Vrystaat Art Exhibition, Bloemfontein (Group)