David Goldblatt

David Goldblatt was born in 1930 in Randfontein, South Africa and died in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2018. Well known for his photography which explored both public and private life in South Africa, Goldblatt created a body of powerful images which depicted the stark contrasts between the lives of black and white people during the time of Apartheid. Goldblatt also extensively photographed colonial era monuments and buildings with the idea that the architecture reveals something about the people who built them. 

He was the recipient of numerous awards including the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, the Ministry of Culture of France (2016); the Lifetime Achievement Award, International Center of Photography, New York (2013); the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award, France (2009); the Hasselblad Photography Award (2006); and Honorary Doctorates from the San Francisco Art Institute (2011); the University of Witwatersrand (2008) and the University of Cape Town (2001).

David Goldblatt's work has been shown in numerous institutions including solo shows at: the Norval Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (2018); the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2018); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota (2014); Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, France (2011); the Jewish Museum, New York (2010); Serralves Foundation, Porto, Portugal (2008); Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2007); and the Hasselblad Center, Göteborg, Sweden (2006). From 2001-2003 a major exhibition of Goldblatt's work opened at the AXA Gallery, New York and traveled to multiple venues including MACBA, Barcelona, Spain; Witte de With - Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam; Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon; Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles; ending at the Lenbachhaus Munich.