CONRAD BOTES

‘Martyrs and Rebels’ is a new body of work by South African artist Conrad Botes, showcasing his distinctive reverse-glass and canvas paintings. Using sharp lines and bold strident colours, Botes’ figures amplify the contradictions and exigencies of South African culture and society.

In such a society, religion is irreverent, violence is desirable, sadism institutionalised, and the individual triumphant in his existential crisis. His work achieves an interesting fusion of the pastoral with contemporary realities and aesthetics.