(1969, LADYSMITH, SOUTH AFRICA)

Conrad Botes considers himself to be a comic artist, and even though he may digress into making paintings on glass, or handsome and brilliant objects of furniture and lights, it is the jagged graphic line, the searingly acid, iconoclastic storyline which cuts to the heart of the sacred cows of Afrikaner culture which turn him on artistically.

Together with Anton Kannemeyer, he is one of the founders of Bitterkomix, a rude, cutting publication which the two started as students to jolt the establishment and enliven the lives of their gleeful peers, and which they still publish regularly. The Bitterkomix publications, still distributed personally by Botes and Kannemeyer, have grown to be something of a national institution.  Botes' own favourite description of his work reads: "The sharp lines of his figuration coupled with the bold strident colours, the juxtaposition of symbols and subjects, serve to amplify the contradictions and exigencies of South African culture and society. Racial conflict, economic and religious status symbols, false values and cultural mystifications are at the centre of Botes' crude, ironic, yet naïve attacks." This extract comes from the catalogue of 'In Fumo', curated by Giacinto Pietrantonio.

"With the comics, we're dealing very specifically with a South African audience who know what we're referring to. Originally we write them in Afrikaans, so many of the references are to things in Afrikaans culture. The paintings I make are much more personal. I can explain them if I have to - but I'd much rather not. People can formulate their own ideas about the work. I do them in a certain way that I enjoy so much and I hope other people will enjoy them too."

  Botes is part of a media-related show called 'Shelf Life' curated by British duo Smith + Fowle. This opened in London recently and will proceed to Bristol, where The Best of Bitterkomix 2 will be launched (Bitterkomix is not currently in distribution in Britain). At a symposium around 'Shelf Life', Botes will discuss his master's thesis, which considered photo-comics in South Africa and the manner in which they presented race and gender as structures of dominance.  Botes is also included in the important show 'In Fumo', which opened in September, alongside such international stars as Jean Michel Basquiat, Oyvind Fahlstrom, Keith Haring, William Kentridge, Roy Lichtenstein, Julian Opie, Raymond Pettibon, Cheri Samba, Andy Warhol and others at the Galleria of Modern Art in Bergamo, Italy. 'In Fumo' is a show of work in private collections related to comics accompanied by a stunning catalogue.

In February, 'Passport to South Africa' will open at the Centro Culturale Trevi, Bolzano, Italy, with Botes, Marlene Dumas, William Kentridge, Willie Bester and others. For this, Botes will present one installation of 46 pieces - paintings on the reverse of glass in various sizes, two lights, and a box with a sculpture. Featuring typical Botes iconography, the piece will be entitled African Renaissance.

Solo Exhibitions

2019

The Goliath Protocol, Everard Read, Johannesburg

2014

Wounds of the past, .MContemporary, Sydney

2012

Zombie Babylon, Stevenson, Johannesburg

2011

The Temptation to Exist, Stevenson, Cape Town

2010

On Earth as It Is in Heaven, KZNSA Gallery, Durban

House of Judas, Fred, London

2009

Crime and Punishment, Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg

Hostile Territory, Aardklop arts festival, Potchefstroom

Cain and Abel, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town

2007

Satan's Choir at the Gates of Heaven, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town

2005

Conrad Botes, ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg

Notes from Underground, Gallery Momo, Johannesburg

Devil's Bullets, Erdmann Contemporary, Cape Town

2004

Forensic Theatre, Gallery Momo, Johannesburg

Conrad Botes, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg

2003

The Big White Sleep, The Scene Gallery, New York City

The Big White Sleep, Galleria L'Ariete, Bologna, Italy

2002

Conrad Botes, Studio d'Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy

Group Exhibitions

2014

Artists Engaged, Proximo Futuro, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon

2013

A Sculptural Premise, Stevenson, Cape Town

Festival Cyclone BD, Saint-Denis, Reunion

Pop Goes the Revolution, The New Church, Cape Town

Sharp Sharp Johannesburg, Gaite Lyrique, Paris, France

The Loom of the Land, Stevenson, Johannesburg

2012

Bitterkomix: Contemporary Comics from South Africa, Llotja del Cànem, Seu de la Ciutat de la Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain

2011

Victims and Martyrs, Gothenburg Kunsthalle, Sweden

Contemporary South African Artists, Turner Galleries, Perth, Australia

Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York

2010

Glanzlichter: Reverse glass paintings in contemporary art, Museum Villa Rot, Burgrieden-Rot, Germany

PEEKABOO - Current South Africa, Tennis Palace Art Museum, Helsinki

Ti Piment festival, Nancy, France

Rio Loco festival, Tolouse, France

... for those who live in it: Pop culture, politics and strong voices, MU Eindhoven, The Netherlands

The Beauty of Distance: Songs of survival in a precarious age, 17th Biennale of Sydney, Australia

The Graphic Unconscious, Philagrafika 2010, Philadelphia, USA

2009

Cyclone BD international comics festival, Reunion Self/Not-self, Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg

Conrad Botes, Anton Kannemeyer & Henning Wagenbreth: Recent prints and drawings, Gallery AOP, Johannesburg

Bitterkomix: Un certain regard sur l'Afrique du Sud, Angoulême International Comics Festival, France

2008

Farewell to Post-Colonialism, Third Guangzhou Triennial, China

2007

Apartheid: The South African Mirror, Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Spain

South African Art: Modern art and cultural development in a changing society, Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia

Turbulence, Hangart-7 (air & art) Edition 6, Germany

South African Art Now, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town

2006

Africa Comics, Studio Museum, Harlem, New York

Bitterkomix, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town

Ninth Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba

New Painting, KZNSA Gallery, Durban; Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg

2004

Diaries and Dreams, Ursula Blickle Stiftung, Frankfurt, Germany

+Positive, Biennale of Merano, Italy

Africa Screams; the return of Evil in African Art and Cinema, Iwalewa Haus, Afrikazentrum der Universitat Bayreuth, Germany

2003

Mlungu in Africa, Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town

2002

Fuori Uso, 12th International exhibition, Pescara, Italy

Dopo Buzzati. Artisti tra pittura e fumetto, Galleria d'Arte Moderna Carlo Rizzarda, Feltre, Italy

Passport to South Africa, Centro Culturale Trevi, Bolzano, Italy

Shelf Life, Spike Island Gallery, Bristol, UK

2001

Shelf Life, Gasworks, London

In Fumo, Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Bergamo, Italy

2000

Towards-Transit, Pro-Helvitia, Lowenbrau. Zurich, Switzerland