De Freston, Botes: Argus & Medusa - Between Despair and Hope II

Why does Théodore Géricault's famous painting Raft of the Medusa remain an inspiration for contemporary artists two centuries later, and how does it relate to today's world? A discussion with artists Tom de Freston and Conrad Botes, whose work is featured in the exhibition Argus & Medusa, moderated by curators Michaela Šilpochová and Otto M. Urban. The programme includes entry to the exhibition and lasts 60 minutes; conducted in English.

Conrad Botes is a visual artist working in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and comics. His work combines comic stylization with grotesque imagery, dark humour and biblical motifs, addressing violence, gender, racial relations, guilt and power. He studied illustration at the Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague and fine art at Stellenbosch University (MA). In 2004 he received the Absa l'Atelier Award; his work has been exhibited at the Sydney Biennale and Havana Biennale, among others. Together with Anton Kannemeyer, he founded the magazine Bitterkomix, through which they have commented on South African society, politics and power relations since the early 1990s. He lives and works in Cape Town.

Tom de Freston is a British visual artist, writer and illustrator based in Oxford. He combines painting, film, text and performance, repeatedly turning to literature, myths and themes of human vulnerability in his work. He studied fine art at Leeds Metropolitan University and art history at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Wreck: A Story of Art and Survival (2022), a personal text inspired by Géricault's painting. With his wife, writer Kiran Millwood Hargrave, he has published illustrated books Julie and the Shark (2023 Czech edition) - awarded Waterstones Children's Gift of the Year and nominated for Waterstones Book of the Year - and Leila and the Blue Fox (2023 Czech edition), which won the Wainwright Prize for Children's Writing.

Otto M. Urban is an art historian and curator specializing in contemporary art and artistic movements at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly symbolism and...