Artist Gabrielle Goliath was dropped by her South African representative, Goodman Gallery, before the cancelation of her proposed Venice Biennale pavilion, according to a report by the Cape Town–based newspaper Daily Maverick from Tuesday. She appears to have been one of around a dozen artists who exited the gallery between last fall and the present.
Goliath said in that article that the gallery cut off its relationship with her on December 18, one day before her solo show at the gallery’s New York outpost closed. She had been with the gallery for over a decade. The artist will continue to be represented by Milan-based Galleria Raffaella Cortese.
By that point last month, the artist said, she had already been chosen to represent South Africa at the Venice Biennale, where she had planned to show a performance addressing the killings of women and queer people in South Africa, a genocide led by Germany in Namibia during the early 20th century, and Israel’s war in Gaza. It was to feature words from the Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed, along with her son, during an Israeli airstrike in October 2023.
After Goliath’s representation with Goodman ended, Gayton McKenzie, the South African culture minister, canceled her pavilion, in what she later called censorship. He denied that allegation, claiming that his decision came amid what he described as interference by an unnamed foreign country. A report by the Israeli outlet Ynetnews this week claimed that that nation was Qatar, whose culture ministry has not responded to the article.
Speaking to the Daily Maverick, Goliath said she was “surprised” by the decision by Goodman Gallery and said, “I am still grappling with this severing of our relationship at a time in which I am facing cancellation and censure.”
In a statement to the Daily Maverick, the gallery attributed the end of its relationship with Goliath came amid a “structural business review” and “significant difficulties” at the gallery. Alongside those shifts, the gallery moved to shrink its roster.
“The decision was taken in the last quarter, following subdued market conditions at international fairs, to reduce the roster from 50 to 40 artists, participate in fewer art fairs and reduce the number of exhibitions across the galleries in response to wider international art market contraction,” the gallery said.
A comparison between an archived version of the gallery’s website from October and the present roster page confirms that this is largely accurate. Goliath, along with ruby onyinyechi amanze, Lisa Brice, Yto Barrada, Wang Bing, Jabulani Dhlamini, Robert Hodgins, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Mateo López, Paul Maheke, Thabiso Sekgala, and Jeremy Wafer, were all listed on the gallery’s Artists page in October and are now no longer there.
ARTnews has reached out to Goodman Gallery and Goliath for comment.
The Daily Maverick report came as the cancelation of Goliath’s pavilion continues to rock the South African art scene. The controversy has reverberated through the political sphere as well, with the Democratic Alliance, the country’s second-largest political party, filing a complaint against McKenzie.
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s President, has not officially commented on the matter, but speaking to the Art Newspaper, a spokesperson for him did appear to address McKenzie’s claim that he does not “use the Ministry in a manner that runs counter to the position of the state,” though McKenzie has previously made statements in support of Israel.
The spokesperson for Ramaphosa said, “South Africa maintains that the state of Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and has submitted a very strong case to the court that is backed by evidence in this regard.”
