Notes

In an attempt to reimagine his approach to making art, Christo Coetzee began cutting up 23 paintings that formed part of his solo exhibition in Cape Town. This occurred in 1975, only a day after the opening making this seem radical in the eyes of the press. In Coetzee's words, he aimed to "re-image" existing works and titled them 'protest exhibition' - the process of incorporating fragments of existing artworks that Coetzee has cut up to construct new artworks. Coetzee explained that his artworks exist within a cycle of collapse and deconstruction, which he then pushes into a state of recreation, repair and life. This became consistent within Coetzee's body of work with the first of the 'protest exhibition' shown at Gencor Gallery in Johannesburg.¹

^1. Ellerman House Art Collection, Cape Town: Ellerman House, https://www.ellerman.co.za/storage/app/media/Experiences/Art/PDFs/ellerman_house_art_brochure.pdf, accessed on 3 October, 2022.

Provenance

Dr Matthys Johannes Strydom Family Collection.

Exhibited

Protest Exhibition 27 January 1975.