LONDON.- Goodman Gallery announced the opening of a London gallery in Autumn 2019.

Globally renowned as the pre-eminent art gallery on the African continent, Goodman Gallery’s new location at 26 Cork Street will complement its two existing spaces in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Goodman Gallery will be the first permanent gallery to activate the Cork Street redevelopment in W1S. The historic street which brought exhibitions by Francis Bacon and Joan Miró to London for the first time, will be enlivened by the gallery’s cutting-edge programme.

Goodman Gallery’s roster of top artists from South Africa and beyond includes Candice Breitz, Alfredo Jaar, William Kentridge, Shirin Neshat and the late David Goldblatt. They also bring to London a new generation of core contemporary names from Africa and the Diaspora, such as Nolan Oswald Dennis, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Grada Kilomba, Kapwani Kiwanga, and Tabita Rezaire.

Founded in 1966, Goodman Gallery has been pivotal in shaping the contemporary South African art scene from the time of apartheid, championing social justice for over half a century. As owner and director of Goodman Gallery for the past 11 years, Liza Essers has brought over 30 international artists to the gallery’s roster, of which 50% are women. The gallery remains committed to providing a platform for art that challenges the limits of freedom of expression, and demonstrates a shared commitment to confronting entrenched power structures and de-colonising traditional art history.

Owner and Director, Liza Essers says: “It is time for a gallery from the African continent to play more of a front-line role in shaping international arts discourse. In this global moment of heightened nationalist sentiment propelled by populist politics, it is more important than ever to reach across borders.”

On its Cork Street location, Essers comments, “It is a thrilling responsibility to be expanding on, and challenging, the history of Cork Street by bringing new perspectives from Africa and beyond.”

Ahead of its London opening, Goodman Gallery marks a significant moment of international activity during Art Basel 2019, with artists Kapwani Kiwanga and Kiluanji Kia Henda exhibiting at Unlimited for the first time, coinciding with a major solo exhibition by William Kentridge opening at the Kunstmuseum Basel.