An Art Book - Diane Victor, Judy Hecker, David Krut

Event Details

FREE - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

On the occasion of the release of David Krut Publishing’s publication, Burning the Candle at Both Ends, about South African artist, Diane Victor, The New York Public Library hosts a conversation between the artist and Judy Hecker, Assistant curator of prints and illustrated books at the Museum of Modern Art. The discussion is moderated by David Krut, the founder of David Krut Projects, Johannesburg/New York. They discuss Diane Victor’s exploration of both traditional and experimental drawing processes, as well as her deep engagement with printmaking and drawing as a mode to address universal issues of political and social injustice.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends, published by David Krut Publishing on the occasion of the Victor’s exhibition at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, follows David Krut Publishing’s TAXI 013: Diane Victor book published in 2008. Marking a significant turning point in Diane Victor’s approach to mark-making, the book documents Victor’s recent installation based work and experimentation with unusual mediums, such as smoke on glass. Although Victor uses traditional intaglio printing methods and conventional charcoal drawing techniques, she also employs non-traditional processes such as cutting, embossing, etching, gouging and burning to convey ideas of trauma, injustice and corruption.

Copies of the book are available for purchase and signing at the event.

Diane Victor, Untitled (Calf), 2011, Brief Lives series, Smoke carbon on paper, 23 x 8.5 inches.Diane Victor, Untitled (Calf), 2011, Brief Lives series, Smoke carbon on paper, 23 x 8.5 inches.Born in Witbank, South Africa in 1964, Diane Victor is renowned for her mastery of printmaking and draughtsmanship. Her prints and drawings are recognized, not only for their technical skill and compulsive linear detail, but also for their sharp political and social commentary and satire.  Her works, although often drawn from historical and mythological references, speak of the social and political inequalities and complexities of South Africa. Violence, racial anxiety and sexual repression are common ideas represented in the works. Combining both thematic and technical skill, Victor impresses powerful ideas on the viewer, never shying away from controversial or taboo subject matter. She received her BA Fine Arts Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 1986; in1988, she became the youngest recipient of the prestigious Volkskas Atelier Award. In 2010 Victor was included in the exhibition, Impressions from South Africa 1965-Now, curated by Judy Hecker at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2010 Victor had her first solo exhibition in New York at David Krut Projects and in 2011, Grinnell College mounted a solo exhibition of Victor’s work at Faulconer Gallery.  In 2012 Victor will be a visiting artist at Washington University in St. Louis’ print workshop, Island Press, and will have her second solo exhibition at David Krut Projects, New York, opening April 19, 2012.

Judy B. Hecker is an Assistant Curator in the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books at The Museum of Modern Art. In 2011, she organized Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now, for which she authored a catalogue. Drawn entirely from MoMA’s collection, the exhibition featured some 80 prints, posters, artist’s books, and wall stencils created over the last five decades in South Africa—a period of tremendous upheaval and change—and including Diane Victor’s cycle of etchings Disasters of Peace. In 2010, Hecker was a co-curator responsible for the MoMA presentation of the touring exhibition William Kentridge: Five Themes, for which she authored Trace: William Kentridge, Prints from The Museum of Modern Art. Among her other collection exhibitions are Repicturing the Past/Picturing the Present (2007); Since 2000: Printmaking Now (2006); One Thing After Another (2000); and Ensor/Posada (1999).

Born in Johannesburg, David Krut is an international print publisher, book publisher and the founder of David Krut Projects. With a focus on developing art careers and education in South Africa, David Krut Projects is an international arts organization, operating in Johannesburg, Cape Town and New York. In 1999, David Krut launched the TAXI Art Book series, the first monographs of contemporary South African artists such as David Koloane, Willem Boshoff and Diane Victor. Accompanied by educational supplements, the TAXI Art Books facilitate art education in high schools and tertiary institutions in South Africa. In 1981, Krut published his first limited edition work with British artist Joe Tilson, and his print dealing activities allowed him to collaborate with smaller galleries in Canada, South Africa, Australia, the US, and the UK. He began working with William Kentridge in 1992, facilitating the artist’s creation of a substantial number of new editions with print workshops. In 2000, Krut began inviting New York-based master printers to Johannesburg to collaborate with local artists, which led to the establishment of David Krut Workshop, a dedicated intaglio print workshop in Johannesburg in 2002. Established in 2001, David Krut Projects, New York, operates as a satellite space for Krut’s operations in South Africa, and promotes South African artists and emerging international artists.

In its third season the program series An Art Book, initiated and organized by Arézoo Moseni, is a celebration of the essential importance and beauty of art books. The events showcase book presentations and discussions by world renowned artists, critics, curators, historians and writers.