The Sowetan’s Edward Tsumele observes that South Africa’s artists with international names “William Kentridge, Marlene Dumas, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Gerard Sekoto and Goldblatt, among others, are selling handsomely overseas” but not within the South African art market. Nonetheless, the market for art in SA is growing and expanding beyond its traditional constituency:
The art market in 2008 stood at R200million, growing to R240million last year – meaning it was not affected by the recession when most sectors were. Chances are this year has so far been the best in terms of art deals. […]
But the biggest surprise for me was that the biggest sellers were Afrikaans artists – and so are the buyers, eclipsing the traditional Jewish market. This is a new trend in the country where both artists and art collectors are traditional[ly] dominated by Jews.
Art deals involving the emerging black middle class are negligible.
Art Sales Hit R250m Mark (SowetanLive.co.za)
