Andries Botha: Being Here (and there)

Description

An exhibition catalogue of major works spanning the illustrious 40-year career of South Africa’s pre-eminent contemporary sculptor, Andries Botha, entitled Being Here (and there).

“Sculpture in South Africa has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in the last decade or so, with arguably the finest and most thought provoking art made in the country being three-dimensional. This show amply illustrates the contention that Andries Botha is our preeminent sculptor and we are proud to have been able to facilitate the exhibition at our lovely space at Grande Provence.

These sculptures span 40 years of a glittering career, one made in each decade, and have never been seen together. Indeed one of the works has only ever been seen at Documenta in Kassel, Germany in the 1990s.” – Trent Read, Director of The Gallery at Grande Provence and Curator of the exhibition.

Botha sees his role as an artist essentially as confirmation of his own humanity rather than creating marketable art that can be displayed in a gallery.

“Most of my major works were made as part of my own meditation on self within the frightening, or challenging South African space, exhibited (mostly abroad) as part of larger group shows, then crated and stored (hidden again),” says Botha, who tries to locate the human within the visceral, social and cultural spectacle.

“The complex South African context unashamedly frames the universal human experience, mine as well. It is difficult to imagine expressing myself in any other way,” he adds.