[Pressportal.co.za] David Krut Publishing is proud to announce the publication of the thirteenth book and Educational Supplement in the TAXI Art Books series, TAXI-013 Diane Victor, by Elizabeth Rankin and Karen von Veh.

The book will be launched at David Krut Projects, 142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, on Saturday 1 March at 11 am.

The importance of Diane Victor’s impressive body of drawings and prints lies not simply in its biting social commentary and the sometimes macabre quality of her images, but also in the interplay between the tough and the fragile in her work, between the difficult subject matter of her visual narratives and the delicate mark-making and fragility of her preferred media.

Victor’s steady output over two decades, her dedication to technique and form, and her courageous and often humorous representation of the world around her have made her one of the most important of contemporary South African artists. She is a draughtswoman of the first order and her unflinching satire comments on the art traditions to which she is heir and the fragmented absurdity of South African history.

Diane Victor has exhibited widely in South Africa and abroad and her work is held by several important collections, including Iziko South African National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Elizabeth Rankin, Professor of Art History at the University of Auckland, provides a meticulously researched essay on the importance of printmaking in Victor’s oeuvre, while Karen von Veh, Senior Lecturer in Art and Design at the University of Johannesburg, presents a provocative analysis of the Gothic elements in Victor’s drawings. TAXI Art Books is a series on contemporary South African artists initiated in 2000 by the French Institute of South Africa and Pro Helvetia – Arts Council of Switzerland, and published by David Krut Publishing. The series aims to broaden awareness of, and create an archive on, contemporary South African art.

An Educational Supplement accompanies each book in the series and serves as a teaching resource for arts educators. The Supplement for TAXI-013 Diane Victor was written by Jacki McInnes, and co-written and designed by Lara Koseff. TAXI-013 Diane Victor was funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa, the Arts and Culture Trust and David Krut Arts Resource.