Guy du Toit
Guy du Toit's bronze hares have become a highly popular series, exploring form through playful renderings of hares who sit and ponder their thoughts, play, dance or box with each other — each holding a unique character and endearing quality.
Hares have long been symbols of life & energy, death & rebirth; often with a close link to the moon, which Guy acknowledges in his work.
His long-eared hares engage in peculiar human behaviors such as fighting, dancing, climbing stairs, or cheekily drinking wine.
A fundamental and deliberate attribute of Guy's bronze hares, is that their charm lies in their beautiful simplicity.
Available Works
Artist Statement
My objects come from my immediate environment, selected for their non-heroic, open-ended meaning.
Bells, for instance, may refer either to slavery or liberty.
My overriding concern is that of reality and illusion; the fusing of Western and African realities is somehow reflected in this ambiguity.
Biography
Guy du Toit has, by virtue of steady production and consistently developing work, become one of South Africa’s most important and accomplished sculptors.
Born in 1958 in Rustenburg in South Africa's North West Province, Guy graduated from the University of Pretoria in 1982, being awarded his BA(FA) Degree with a distinction in sculpture.
“Liberated” by the advent of democracy in South Africa from having to concern himself and his art with the notions of Identity, he has turned his attention to “less provincial” pursuits like revelling in form, concept and media for their own sakes.
His bronze hares have become a highly popular series, exploring form through playful bronze renderings of hares who sit and ponder their thoughts, play, dance or box with each other — each holding a unique character and endearing quality.
Hares have long been symbols of life & energy, death & rebirth; often with a close link to the moon, which Guy acknowledges in his work.
His long-eared hares have a peculiar lightness of being whilst they engage in peculiar human behaviors such as fighting, dancing, climbing stairs, or cheekily drinking wine. The artist especially likes the hares to have a noble, ancient look.
A fundamental and deliberate attribute of Guy's hares, is that their charm lies in their beautiful simplicity.
He is represented internationally in the Smithsonian Institute, The House of Humour and Satire in Bulgaria, The Montgomery Sculpture Trust, and the Czech National Gallery in Prague.
Guy has been the recipient of various awards, and his works form part of private and public collections around the world.
Selected Exhibitions
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2021 Solo Exhibition, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
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2021 Summer 2021, Everard Read, London, UK
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2020 And all the Hares Came Out to Play, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
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2020 Bronze, Steel, Stone & Bone, Everard Read Gallery, London, UK
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2020 Vertigo, IS Art Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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2019 Summer Exhibition, Everard Read, London, UK
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2018 Guy Du Toit: Good Hare Day, Everard Read Gallery, London, UK
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2017 Bronze, Steel and Stone, Everard Read Gallery, London, UK
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2017 Summer Exhibition, Everard Read Gallery, London, UK
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2016 Solo Exhibition, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
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2016 Bronze, Steel and Stone, Everard Read Gallery, London, UK
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2014 Southern Guild and Design, Basel Miami, USA
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2014 The Orchard Walk, Tokara Wine Estate, South Africa
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2014 Sculpture Summer III, Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
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2013 After the Rainbow Nation, Nirox Sculpture Park, South Africa
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2013 Possessed, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
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2012 Solo Exhibition, Tokara Wine Estate, Cape Town, South Africa
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2011 The Length of a Piece of String, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
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2010 Twenty, Nirox Sculpture Park, South Africa