PAUL DU TOIT : “Off The Wall” features new paintings and sculptures at the ERDMANN CONTEMPORARY from the 26th January 2005 untill 19th February 2005 in CAPE TOWN. Three years later, Paul du Toit looks forward to another solo exhibition in Cape Town. ‘Off The Wall’ will consist of heavily worked textured paintings, sculpture, and never before shown works on paper. The sculptures will include a new series worked in resin, which has also not been exhibited before.
‘I'm excited to work with the ERDMANN CONTEMPORARY because they have such a clear understanding of the art world and of what is important for an artist's career. I also enjoy fresh startups - although the gallery is new, Heidi [Erdmann] is a very experienced art dealer.’
Paul has focused on establishing himself internationally, but maintains that Cape Town is the greatest home ground there is. "I have a large base of collectors here, whose support I value highly. Much has happened in the three years since I exhibited in Cape Town, and I would like to share the progression in my work with them."
Paul sees this exhibition as a culmination of ideas that stretch over the last seven years of experience. His continual experimentation – with techniques, media, applications, and colour, has arguably added a greater resonance to his more recent works.
This last year has been particularly challenging and fruitful for du Toit. His solo exhibition in New York was very well received, and he followed this with another Holland solo in September, where he has an enthusiastic and loyal following. In between, he represented South Africa in Athens at the ARTIADE (Olympics for Visual Arts) in August, running concurrently with the Olympic Games.
Paul’s growing self-confidence is reflected in the increasing vulnerability he is able to display in his work. The strong line still defines his painted works, but its autocracy is tempered now by its own fluidity; variations in depth and width inform increasingly sensitive portraits of the moods of the inhabitants of Paul’s inner sanctuary (or asylum?), PlanetPaul. In his recent work, Paul exposes the grimaces and pain of his Planetpeople with less of the camouflage of the riotous colors of previous years.
His 2003 works on paper are more ethereal than the oils; reduced solely to ink and crayon lines with a faint acrylic wash. Many of the forms lack arms – a coincidental consequence of an ambidextrous process whereby du Toit uses long sticks to apply the line he wants, separating himself as far as possible from his creation.
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