David Krut Publishing

Grethe Fox, Lucy Rayner & Jillian Ross

The DKW and David Krut Projects booth Prints and Original works

New Editions Original Works

Well it worked. Jo’burg people came out the Sandton Convention Centre to support the city’s first commercial Art Fair – 12th to 16th March, 2008. The 1995 and 1997 Biennales were a very distant memory of past major art events not known to many art contemporaries, but there is no doubt JAF will have energised the city’s culture scene. Art and money may have been the anticipated theme, but there was definitely enough interest at our booth to prove that art for art’s sake has a future in Jozi.

The DKART’s team was out in full force to present the three major aspects of our art, and art book activities. Jillian Ross, the manager senior collaborator of DKW, our print workshop, had half of the booth and displayed framed and unframed etchings and monotypes by the wonderful group of established and emerging artists with whom we have had the pleasure to collaborate. The third wall featured works by Colbert Mashile whose career as a professional artist may be considered to have started with his first group of editions at DKW, shortly after it was established in mid 2002. Large flat files were brought from DKW to allow more works from the workshop editions to be seen.

Lucy Rayner, the manager of David Krut Projects, displayed a mix of paintings by artists whom we now represent in South Africa, and oils by two artists with which our New York space works closely. There was also a selection of etchings by important international artists. The third wall was a recognition of the brilliance of the prints by William Kentridge with the Telephone Lady, 2000, a very large linocut, and L’ Inesorabile Avanzata, 2007, a recent series of five etchings done at DKW. We pay tribute to Osiah Masekowmeng, a master-printer who recently passed away and whose printing skills are reflected in his fine work in printing the edition of the Telephone Lady at the Artists Proof Studios in Johannesburg.

In the nearby books section of the Fair, we had a complimentary table and shelves. Bronwyn Law-Viljoen, the manager of our book publishing activities presented the TAXI Art Books and all our publications plus those we distribute from TATE Gallery, London. Our book publishing and bookstore personnel operated the booth with great success– thanks to Lara Koseff, Bazukile Diko, Cara Snyman, Susan Madava, Simphiwe Mashinini and Solomon Mabengeza. The Diane Victor TAXI-013 book made it’s debut and was very well received. The Deborah Bell TAXI-010 book continues to be in demand, and having sold out will now be re-printed. Bell also creates editions regularly at DKW.

The unique works displayed at our art booth were by Jan-Henri Boyens, Colbert Mashile, Maya Maljevic, Alastair Whitton, Sandile Zulu, and from New York Wallace Whitney and Carrie Moyer, with monotypes specially created for the event at DKW by
Maja Maljevic and Lehlogonolo (Hloni) Mashaba. Works from DKW included Deborah Bell, Wilma Cruise, William Kentridge, David Koloane, Andrzej Nowicki, Stompie Selebe, Penny Siopis, Sean Slemon, Nathaniel Stern and Alastair Whitton.

International prints were on display by Frank Auerbach, Julian Opie from the UK, and Willie Cole, Lesley Dill, Suzanne McLelland,Thomas Nozkowski, Michele Segre and Kiki Smith from the USA.

Many thanks to our support team headed by Ben Law-Viljoen with Niall Bingham, Lungi Khongisa and Seun Mokotedi.

Congratulations to Artlogic and their team, and First National Bank for having made this event possible. An extra thanks to Brendan Copestake.

Keywords: Painting, History, Arts-and-Culture, Design, monograph, Photography, Art, South-African, International, Bookstore