Benefit Auction for South African Artist Diane Victor

Diane Victor, And all the books she had planned to read, charcoal on paper, 90 x 150 cm, 2010. Courtesy The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg

The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg will hold a benefit auction on April 20, to support a vital medical procedure required by the ailing artist, Diane Victor. I do not know much about the artist's medical condition, but it does not matter. What is important is that this auction is for a noble cause, especially considering that Victor is such a very important artist known for her incomparably powerful draftsmanship and prodigious, haunting imagination. Several marquee artists, including William Kentridge, Kendell Geers, David Goldblatt, Sue Williamson, Sam Nhlengethwa, Penny Siopis, Clive van den Berg, Brett Murray, Kagiso Pat Mautloa, Mikhael Subtzky, Kudzanai Chiurai, and more have donated work. And there are also available works by Robert Hodgins, Norman Catherine, Willem Boshoff, Johannes Segolela, and others. Even if we forget for a moment that this is a benefit auction, it is still an incredible line up of some of the most accomplished South African artists. So, my hope is that this auction is successful, and that Ms. Victor will get the treatment she needs: contemporary African art will be the richer for it.