Founded in Johannesburg by Linda Goodman in 1966, during the most oppressive years of apartheid, Goodman Gallery was a defiant outlier—South Africa’s only gallery where Black artists could exhibit their work. From the start, it positioned itself as a champion of artists tackling social and political issues, playing a critical role in elevating some of the most influential voices to emerge from the continent over the decades.
In a rare and unexpected move, art advisor and curator Liza Essers bought the gallery in 2008. Under her dynamic leadership, what was once a pioneering but locally focused institution has transformed into a global force, with expansions into Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and, most recently, New York. As Goodman Gallery enters its 59th year, Essers reflects on its evolution, its impact on contemporary African art, and its expanding international reach. “When I took over the gallery, it only represented South African artists, so the program has evolved significantly,” she told Observer. While the gallery has remained deeply committed to work that challenges power structures and explores postcolonial legacies, Essers has broadened its scope to include not only artists from across Africa but also its diaspora and others from the Global South engaged in parallel struggles.
Two major curatorial and ethical frameworks underpin the gallery’s program. The first, South-South, launched in 2015, a few years into Essers’s tenure, while the second, In Context, examines the complexities and tensions within specific places. “At that point, the art world was really about separate regions and scenes—the Chinese art market, Brazil, etc.,” she says. “However, art is an international language and a way of connecting the human condition across the globe. So my interest was to focus on social change with a global perspective.” Most recently, she has strengthened the gallery’s commitment to Working Title, an initiative dedicated to fostering the next generation of talent from Africa and its diaspora.
Not every gallery operates with such a firm curatorial vision and ethos. Goodman Gallery’s guiding pillars have not only shaped its identity but have also enabled a sharp focus on supporting artists with institutional profiles, long-term career prospects and organic market growth—anchored in solid CVs, museum exhibitions and biennials. The roster speaks for itself, featuring some of the most important artists of our time: William Kentridge, El Anatsui, Alfredo Jaar, Shirin Neshat and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, to name just a few. “Many of those artists unpack issues of race. Having a global roster allows us to contemplate how this conversation is happening independently in a place like South Africa but also in the States and elsewhere,” Essers explains. By embracing a transcultural approach, the gallery has moved beyond the confines of geography, fostering a global dialogue on these urgent issues.
Despite a challenging market over the past year, Essers is certain their approach will pay off. Collectors, she notes, are gravitating toward artists with solid CVs and genuine cultural relevance—the only factors that sustain consistent market growth beyond fleeting trends and speculative bubbles. “I think we’re in a very privileged position,” she says. “I think our collectors are looking to be more focused on artists that have art historical relevance and are already entering the canon of art history.” Looking ahead, she envisions the gallery not just as a marketplace but as a platform for deeper conversations.
“I think that going forward, I would like to be more focused on using art to create a space for conversations and to bring people together through shared histories and human experiences,” she continues, reflecting on how, now more than ever, as the world grows dangerously polarized, art remains a vital tool for fostering connection and shared understanding. “I think it’s very dangerous how people got such polarized positions. It feels like we’re going backward. Instead, we need to focus on the nuances, and art can help us do so.”
In 2023 Goodman Gallery quietly opened a new space on the Upper East Side—not with a splashy launch, but with deliberate restraint. Designed as an office and salon, the space prioritizes private, intimate conversations rather than high-traffic exhibitions. The goal? To strengthen connections with American curators and museums, secure more institutional opportunities for the gallery’s artists, and offer visibility to those without New York representation. “We wanted to do something different, as many of our big artists already have galleries here,” Essers explains. “The New York space is really for those artists that are younger and up and coming and don’t have representation in the States, as well as a place to connect in a different way with curators, writers, to start working with them through focused presentations. Amazing things have happened in that way.”
Beyond fostering emerging talent, the New York space is also introducing overlooked South African modernists to the American market—many of whom recently gained renewed visibility at the last Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa. It’s all part of the gallery’s larger effort to rebalance art history by embracing a more global perspective. “We are seeing a growing international institutional recognition of these artists as essential voices within the discourse of what now is actually being referred to as global modernism,” Essers says.
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This conversation naturally leads to a broader question: Where does Cape Town’s art scene stand today, and how might the continent’s role in the international art world continue to grow? The question feels especially timely in light of Koyo Kouoh’s appointment as the first African woman to lead the Venice Biennale.
“It has exploded in the last ten years,” Essers says, her enthusiasm unmistakable. She credits not just the Cape Town Art Fair but also major institutions like the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, where Kouoh has been curator since 2019. “They’re not only helping to grow a local audience but also bringing an international audience to discover the amazing art emerging from the continent,” she notes. “I think it’s just going to continue. I think we’re just seeing the beginning. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Crucially, it’s not just international recognition driving the momentum—there’s also a thriving local ecosystem. A new wave of young galleries is giving emerging artists their first major shows, while a new generation of art enthusiasts and collectors is eager to be part of the scene. Even more promising? Long-term investment from the government. “The city of Cape Town is investing in studios for artists and paying for it,” Essers confirms.
For Essers, Goodman Gallery isn’t just about selling art—it’s about cultivating and fostering a local audience for it. “For example, we run art history courses, and we have over 150 people in our five-day art history courses,” she notes. Educating and developing collectors and helping them understand the cultural significance of contemporary art is a key pillar of the gallery’s strategy in Cape Town. But engaging with the next generation of collectors globally is just as crucial, and as Essers points out, they don’t operate the way their predecessors did. “I don’t think that the next generation of collectors necessarily are going to buy art in the same way a previous generation of collectors have been buying,” she says. “It’s about figuring out what that looks like. For instance, we’ve put a lot of effort into digital.”
At the same time, she believes people are craving more meaningful experiences and deeper conversations around art. The art world today is vastly different—more global, more cosmopolitan and finally paying proper attention to the Global South. “I think we are ahead of the curve there, and I’m excited as to what we’re going to do and what we’re doing.”
Looking ahead, the gallery has an ambitious program lined up for the year. In New York, Goodman Gallery is preparing a solo show of Dor Guez, a multimedia artist born in Jerusalem to a Palestinian family from Lydda on his mother’s side and Jewish immigrants from North Africa on his father’s. The exhibition follows the gallery’s current group show, Landing (again) (closing February 28), which brings together eight major 20th and 21st-century artists instrumental in shaping the trajectory of African and diaspora art history. The lineup includes William Kentridge, David Koloane, Atta Kwami, Sam Nhlengethwa, George Pemba, Gerard Sekoto, Carrie Mae Weems and Sue Williamson. A standout piece is The In-Between (2022–2023), Weems’s sprawling installation of archival images and books paying tribute to the late Okwui Enwezor (1963-2019) and his lifelong mission to challenge the art world’s blind spots.
At Frieze London, the gallery will spotlight a lesser-known facet of El Anatsui’s practice—his early works in wood, created long before the signature metal tapestries that made him famous. Sourced from discarded wooden trays found in local markets, these works bear burned-in patterns and symbols that reference traditional Ghanaian motifs while exploring consumerism and cultural identity.
Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, Goodman Gallery has just opened a major William Kentridge exhibition, “To Cross One More Sea.” The show invites reflection on themes of exile and return, positioning the artist’s latest series of drawings, small sculptures, puppets and film within an ongoing meditation on displacement and belonging.