Goodman Gallery is an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

founded in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

by Linda Givon (previously Goodman) in 1966. The gallery operates spaces in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It represents both established and emerging artists who are regarded as having helped shape the landscape of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

History

Founded during

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, the gallery opened with a show of 30 artists, mostly leading European modernists:

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

. It remained a "resolutely non-discriminatory space", protecting its artists and freedom of expression during the political tumult. Goodman Gallery progressively emerged as one of South Africa's top contemporary art galleries. It focuses on "working with southern Africa's most significant artists, both established and emerging; those from the greater African continent; and international artists who engage with the African context." Major South African artists such as

David Koloane David Nthubu Koloane (5 June 1938 – 30 June 2019) was a South African artist. In his drawings, paintings and collages he explored questions about political injustice and human rights. Koloane is considered to have been "an influential artist ...

David Goldblatt David Goldblatt HonFRPS (29 November 1930 – 25 June 2018) was a South African photographer noted for his portrayal of South Africa during the period of apartheid.Weinberg, Paul.David Goldblatt: Photographer Who Found the Human in an Inhuman ...

Sue Williamson Sue Williamson (born 1941) is an artist and writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Life Sue Williamson was born in Lichfield, England in 1941. In 1948 she immigrated with her family to South Africa. Between 1963 and 1965 she studied at t ...

and Sam Nhlengethwa have all exhibited there. In 2008, Liza Essers purchased the gallery. In 2016, Goodman Gallery was named one of 500 best galleries worldwide by ''

Modern Painters ''Modern Painters'' (1843–1860) is a five-volume work by the Victorian art critic, John Ruskin, begun when he was 24 years old based on material collected in Switzerland in 1842. Ruskin argues that recent painters emerging from the tradition of ...

.'' It also celebrated its 50th anniversary the same year with the two-part curatorial mission, ''In Context,'' co-curated by Liza Essers and artist Hank Willis Thomas that explored notions of African identity in both the United States and Africa. The gallery hosted, for the first time on the African continent, the seventh international conference on African and African American art, ''Black Portraiture III: Reinventions, Strains of Histories and Culture.'' Also in 2016, Goodman Gallery became the first art dealer to sign a permanent lease for Pollen Estate in London, with 5,730 sq ft across the ground and basement floors of the building, which was designed by

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners RSHP is a British architecture firm, architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to si ...

Artists

Goodman Gallery represents numerous living artists, including: * Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze *

Ghada Amer Ghada Amer ( ar, غادة عامر, May 22 1963 in Cairo, Egypt) is a contemporary artist, much of her work deals with issues of gender and sexuality. Her most notable body of work involves highly layered embroidered paintings of women's bodies re ...

Candice Breitz Candice Breitz (born 1972) is a South African white artist who works primarily in video and photography.Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin Adam Broomberg (born 1970) and Oliver Chanarin (born 1971) are artists living and working in London. Together they have had numerous international exhibitions. Their work is represented in major public and private collections. They were awarded th ...

Kudzanai Chiurai Kudzanai Chiurai (born 1981) is a Zimbabwean artist and activist. His repertoire of art combines the use of mixed media which involves the use of paintings, drawings, videos and photographs to address and tackle social, political and cultural iss ...

(since 2011) * Mounir Fatmi *

* Gabrielle Goliath *

Alfredo Jaar Alfredo Jaar (; ; born 1956) is a Chilean-born artist, architect, photographer and filmmaker who lives in New York City. He is mostly known as an installation artist, often incorporating photography and covering socio-political issues and war—t ...

* Samson Kambalu (since 2017) *

William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films, especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s. The latter are constructed by ...

* Grada Kilomba (since 2017) *

Moshekwa Langa Moshekwa Langa (born 1975) is a South African visual artist whose work includes painting, drawing, sculpture, performance, video, and photography. Biography Moshekwa Langa was born in South Africa in 1975. He began studying art history around ...

Liza Lou Liza Lou (born 1969) is an American visual artist. She is best known for producing large scale sculpture using glass beads. Lou ran a studio in Durban, South Africa from 2005 to 2014. She currently has a nomadic practice, working mostly outdoors ...

* Misheck Misamvu *

Paulo Nazareth Paulo Nazareth (b. 1977) is a Brazilian contemporary artist based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Nazareth has achieved notable acclaim for his distinctive approach to contemporary art, exemplified by multimedia, performance-based works, international e ...

(since 2017) *

Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat ( fa, شیرین نشاط; born March 26, 1957 in Qazvin) is an Iranian visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and th ...

* Tabita Rezaire *

Yinka Shonibare Yinka Shonibare (born 9 August 1962), is a British-Nigerian artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is t ...

(since 2017) *

The Brother Moves On The Brother Moves On (TBMO) is a South African performance art ensemble based in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The group was founded somewhere between the years 2008 and 2010 by broad-based artist Nkululeko Mthembu and his brother Siyabonga Mthembu. B ...

Hank Willis Thomas Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976 in Plainfield, New Jersey; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Early life and education Hank Willis Th ...

In addition, the gallery manages various artist estates, including: *

In the past, the gallery has worked with the following artists and estates: * El Anatsui * Sydney Kumalo *

Tracey Rose Tracey Rose is a South African artist who lives and works in Johannesburg. Rose is best known for her performances, video installations, and photographs. Biography Rose was born in 1974 in Durban, South Africa. She attended the University o ...

* Carrie Mae Weems

Controversy

In 2012, South Africa’s governing party, the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

, went to court to try to force Goodman Gallery to remove '' The Spear'', a painting by

Brett Murray Brett Murray (born 1961) is a South African artist mostly known for his steel and mixed media wall sculptures. He was born in Pretoria, South Africa. Murray has a master's degree in fine art from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, 1989. Referr ...

that appeared to depict South Africa’s president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

with his genitals exposed. On the morning of 22 May 2012, two men entered the gallery during visiting hours and defaced the painting - first by painting a red cross over the depiction of Zuma's face and genitals and then by smearing black paint over the canvas. The two – Barend la Grange and Lowie Mabokela – were arrested. In exchange for the ANC’s agreeing to drop a lawsuit, the gallery agreed to remove the work from the exhibition.Lydia Polgreen (30 May 2012)
Amid Uproar, Graphic Painting of South African President Is Removed From Gallery
�''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

References

External links

*
Goodman Gallery page on Ocula
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman Gallery Art in Johannesburg Art in Cape Town Art galleries established in 1966 Art museums and galleries in South Africa 1966 establishments in South Africa