About

Boytchie (Phillip Richard Jannecke-Newman) is a contemporary artist working in painting, drawing and sculpture. The artist was born in 2000 and grew up in Kuils River, South Africa. His work draws from Neo-Expressionism, Romanticism, Impressionism and anime. For Boytchie, drawing is the foundation of his studio practice. It is from this point that he dips into other disciplines ranging from painting and sculpture to installation and film. The artist’s studio becomes a generative space for play. Experimentation is a huge part of Boytchie’s practice, with the artist constantly pushing himself creatively. 

Through bold mark-making, saturated colours and violent iconography that teeters between the tragic and comic, Boytchie’s work captures the feelings of desperation and the anxiety of contemporary hustle culture. A salient critique, he comments on the hyper-individualism and greed that permeate our society, and how we are bombarded with violence, death and suffering to the point of complacency. 

“As an artist, I want my work to misbehave”

And misbehave is exactly what the Boytchie’s catalogue has done.
To date, Boytchie has had four solo exhibitions. He has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions and has also also achieved the honour of seeing his works showcased at the RMB Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg.

Boytchie’s artistic vision and voice have taken him far, attracting the attention of key figures in the art world - including Everard Read, South Africa’s longest running commercial gallery, which now represents him.