The Goodman Gallery

Profil

The Goodman Gallery exhibits, supports, and promotes contemporary art that is engaged, courageous, and provocative. The gallery's focus is on artists from South Africa and the greater African continent, as well as artists from further afield whose work engages in a dialogue with the African context.

Under the new direction of Liza Essers, the gallery is building on its vision to show accomplished contemporary artwork from South Africa and abroad, and is also forging new and exciting collaborative relationships locally and internationally. The gallery also aims to broaden its publishing programme through the production of high-quality books and limited editions.

Founded in 1966 by Linda Givon, the Goodman Gallery aimed to support and encourage artists to exhibit despite the strictures of apartheid, and to foster vibrant cultural exchange. With the advent of democracy in South Africa, many of the ideas and narratives developed under the concept of 'art for advocacy' have shifted to encompass new aesthetic, social, and political themes, both local and global.

The gallery has major spaces in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and also recently opened Goodman Gallery Projects at Arts on Main in the Johannesburg CBD. The Project Space is intended as an experimental space for younger and emerging artists, and for special projects and installations. In Cape Town the gallery is also represented at the One&Only Hotel on the V & A Waterfront.

Since acquiring the Goodman Gallery in 2008, Liza Essers has launched a number of new initiatives that have extended the gallery's participation in international events and developed closer collaborations with international museums and galleries. For more than a decade, Goodman Gallery has been the only South African gallery at the world's premier art fair, Art Basel, and has in recent years also exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach, the Armory Show in New York, Paris Photo and the Joburg Art Fair. Multiple ongoing collaborations have also been launched. In October 2009, the Goodman Gallery collaborated with Air de Paris, Galleria Continua , Galerie Krinzinger, Kamel Mennour , Galerie A lmine Rech, and Esther Schipper Berlin to present Sphères, at Le Moulin, France.

In 2010, in partnership with a number of galleries and cultural institutions, the gallery will present In Context, a series of site-specific exhibitions and interventions in and around Johannesburg over the period of the Soccer World Cup. Showcasing emerging and established African artists and major international artists, In Context will include exhibitions, performances, screenings, and installations in public spaces across the city.