ARTIST BIO
Francois “Fox” Pretorius is a visual artist from South Africa, based in Shenzhen, China, whose practice spans painting, printmaking, and mixed media. With a foundation in graphic design and a professional trajectory rooted in abstract figurative art, his work explores the tension between urban observation and introspective reflection. Pretorius’ style has evolved toward bold, gestural abstraction predominantly rendered in structural black and white, often contrasted by organic grayscales. His practice has embraced contemporary still life and spatial narratives, more recently incorporating polymer etching and digital techniques to explore themes of coffee and tech culture, and urban landscapes, all against the backdrop of discourses on what disappears and what remains on a societal, cultural, and personal level.
Exhibited internationally, his work is held in private and institutional collections.
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ARTIST STATEMENT
Chaos and order: an intertidal force of ebb and flow. This ever-shifting tension defines my work and the experimental nature of my creative process. It is present in the interplay between structure and the flux of spontaneity, idea and experience, observation and reflection.
My work spans painting, printmaking, and mixed media, with digital techniques at times also at play. I seek to trace the rhythms of urban life, the traces of memory and experience, and of everyday rituals—from the spaces we inhabit and the spaces we internalise, to the culture reflected in everyday objects and technologies. Through abstraction, still life, and spatial narratives, I explore the subtle tensions embedded in contemporary life.
Originally from South Africa, Fox Pretorius works from his studio based in Shenzhen, China.
For more in-depth writing on my work, check out the essay by David Gibson from Gibson Contemporary or visit the Immaterial Topographies page >>>
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Ever tried. Ever failed. Never mind. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
- Samuel Beckett