Beezy Bailey

William James Sebastian "Beezy" Bailey (born 21 July 1962) is a South African artist who works in various media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and ceramics. He has worked full-time as an artist for 30 years, with over 20 one-man shows in London, Johannesburg and Cape Town as well as group shows around the world.

Early life and education

Bailey was born in 1962 in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[1] His father was Jim Bailey, the son of mining magnate Abe Bailey and the proprietor of Drum.^[2]

He received a fine arts degree from Byam Shaw School of Art in United Kingdom (London) in 1986, after studying two years of life drawing and then a third in printmaking, painting, and sculpture.

Artwork

Bailey has worked with musicians, including David Bowie,^[3] Brian Eno, Dave Matthews and Arno Carstens, and with photographer Zwelethu Mthethwa.

His work has often been political and attracted controversy.^[4]

Bailey's work is represented in several art collections, including the David Bowie Art Collection.

Joyce Ntobe

Frustrated with "increasingly prevalent affirmative action", in 1991 Bailey submitted two artworks to an exhibition.^[5] One was with the traditional Beezy Bailey signature (rejected), the other signed Joyce Ntobe.^[6] The latter is now in the South African National Gallery as part of its permanent collection. When the curator of the Gallery was writing a paper about three black women artists, Joyce Ntobe being one, Bailey revealed the truth.^[7] He has since exhibited work under the name Joyce Ntobe.^[5]

Personal life

Bailey is married with two children and lives in Cape Town^[8] and London.

See also

• Feb 3, Rainbow Nation Peace Ritual
• Red Jacket