Staff Writer
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is proud to present Backlash, an exhibition by renowned realist artist, John Kotze.
The exhibition will take place in two phases; the first being his more familiar work of observation drawings, the majority of it having been executed from the commencement of the novel Coronavirus outbreak, and thereafter.
The second body of work is a series of collage works; negotiating between portraiture, object and
dreamscape; with each work chronologically annotating a particular event and condition from the
earliest work to settlement.
The contrast (or perhaps compliment) between the two groups of work, forms the basis of the nomenclature of the body of work; within it emerges the diametric of consistency and growth, cooperating to the resultant exposition.
“Embracing contradiction, the works blend cubism, expressionism, and surrealism to reflect fractured
identities”said Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa and F. Zvikomborero Mandangu, the co-curators of the
exhibition.
“They are an invitation to confront both cohesion and disarray, creating a dynamic interplay
of emotion and perspective” they concluded.
Backlash stands as a bridge between high technical formality and creative abstraction, with the ease of the artist’s shift between the two techniques providing guaranteed appeal to the viewer.
Backlash opens on Saturday the 9 th of September, 2025 and runs until October.
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