Our present exhibition of oil paintings by Jaco Coetzee, a young man of great talent whom we have known for a couple of years, has so far been very well received. Opening last Sunday - 18th April - at 5 pm, it was well attended and very much enjoyed.

This exhibition, like the carpets that went before, will be a shifting show, which means that as paintings are bought, they will be replaced with fresh ones, so please make a point of revisiting Ibis to see any new works. Jaco's exhibition will last for about two months, taking us well into winter.

Georgia Gundersen has this to say about Jaco's work:

Jaco Coetzee’s spirited oils are a testament to how far fearless diligence and enthusiasm can take us. These are works of quick-fire accuracy, unburdened by fainthearted execution. His brushwork gives a sense of the Cape wind at his hand’s heel. From these flurries come descriptions that are true and unmistakable: Water that is grey and languid, or is as startlingly blue as we know it can be. Lights on an overhang in a café street scene are not only set down, they are switched on, by an ease of application equivalent to a switch flip.

Here are canvases with all the force of the South African vernacular, both in the blatancy of the colours and in the stark forms of the landscape. And it is his landscapes where Jaco is most successful, especially those where he has reduced his palette, and where the brash light of our blazing days has been tempered. Founded on the essentials of good draftsmanship and adroit brushwork this young artist will only move forward. His primary challenges will be to guard against the glibness of talent, and to hear the whispers which say what must be made lovelier, and what should be less so.

This exhibition presents to receptive buyer and art collector alike, the happy chance to begin with young Coetzee from the ground up. Together with your enjoyment of his paintings and their growing appreciation, you will have a rare certainty few things can offer.

G Gundersen

Jaco Coetzee Strokes of Endowment

IBIS Gallery