CONRAD BOTES
b. 1969 - Western Cape, RSA
Conrad Botes has an MA in Fine Arts from the University of Stellenbosch (1997) and a degree in Second Phase Illustration from the Koninklijke Akademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag, Netherlands (1994). He currently lives and works in Cape Town.
Botes’ biting satire, frequently directed at South African society, politics and religion, is channelled into both his painting, printmaking and sculptural art practice, and his satirical comics, published – alongside his frequent collaborator Anton Kannemyer – in the Bitterkomix series. Botes is fascinated by the subversive quality an image can possess, where the formal aspects and the physical beauty of a work can draw the viewer in and seduce, and simultaneously being confronted by disturbing content and subject matter.
Botes’ work often oscillates between different formal practices; he is equally at ease sculpting or painting. He can be equally drawn into the complicated narrative of the comic sequential narrative or the austereness of portraiture. Yet when it comes to the content of his work, he is fundamentally drawn towards allegory and its ability to seduce the viewer into a narrative. This is why he often chooses biblical themes as vehicles for political allegories, they have a familiarity that one can relate to, yet they hold the possibility to mimic reality and challenge beliefs and ideologies. Growing up during Apartheid South Africa, these themes also hold the potential for exploring the intricacies of guilt and complicity and their relationship to violence, race and gender.
Selected Solo & Duo Exhibitions
2022 Etching and Sculpture - Kalashnikovv Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
2020 BitterKomix with Anton Kannemeyer – 131 A Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2019 The Goliath Protocol – CIRCA Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
2014 Wounds of the past – .M Contemporary, Sydney AUS
2012 Zombie Babylon – Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
2011 The Temptation to Exist – Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2010 On Earth as It Is in Heaven – Kwa-Zulu Natal Society of Arts, Durban, RSA
2010 House of Judas – Fred Gallery, London, GBR
Selected Group Exhibitions & Projects
2024 Refuse the given world - Kalashnikovv Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2020 Winter Group Exhibition – Gallery Fanon, Johannesburg, RSA
2020 Wild Wild Life – Glen Carlou Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2020 Group Exhibition – 131 A Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2018 Satirical Pop – .M Contemporary, Sydney, AUS
2018 Edging Forward: New Prints 2018/Winter – International Print Center, New York, USA
2018 Once When We Were Free – Erdmann Contemporary, Cape Town, RSA
2017 Silos – Silas von Morisse Gallery, New York, USA
2016 In Residence II – Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, IRL
2014 Artists Engaged? Maybe – Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, PRT
2013 A Sculptural Premise – Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, RSA
2013 Sharp Sharp Johannesburg – Gaite Lyrique, Paris, FRA
2013 The Loom of the Land – Stevenson, Johannesburg, RSA
Art Fairs & Festivals
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, GBR: 2019
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, RSA: 2023 / 2022 / 2021 / 2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017
FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, RSA: 2021 / 2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2016 / 2013
Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg, RSA: 2021 / 2020 / 2016 / 2015 / 2013
African Art Galleries Now Art Fair with A.A.G.A and Artsy Online: 2022 / 2021 / 2020
Also Known As Africa AKAA, Paris, FRA: 2022