Hentie van der Merwe lives and works in Darling in the Western Cape, South Africa. He was born in Windhoek, Namibia and studied fine arts at the University of the Witwatersrand where he obtained both his bachelors and masters degrees. Between 2000 and 2002 he attended the Higher Institute for Fine Arts (HISK) in Antwerp and in 2001 he won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, USA.

He has had several solo exhibitions in both South Africa and Europe (Tim van Laere Gallery, Antwerp in 2003 and 2005; Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg in 2000, 2003 and 2008; and Galerie Gabriele Rivet, Cologne in 2003 and 2004). He has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions both in South Africa and internationally, some of which were curated by acclaimed international curators such as Jan Hoet (My Private Heroes, MARTa Herford, Germany, 2005) and Okwui Enwezor (Snap Judgements: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, International Center of Photography, New York, 2006). In 2002 he won the prize for best visual artist at the BIG Torino 2002 International Biennale of Young Art curated by Michelangelo Pistoletto and in 2008 the Sasol Wax Art Award, the most prestigious award in South Africa for professional artists.