Diane Victor named Arthur L. and Sheila Prensky Island Press Visiting Artist for Spring 2018

Diane Victor, a major figure in the South African and international art communities, is the Arthur L. and Sheila Prensky Island Press Visiting Artist for spring 2018. She spoke at 6:30p February 5 as part of the Sam Fox School Public Lecture Series.

Victor is renowned for her expert printmaking and draughtsmanship. Her drawings and prints are known for their technical skill and compulsive linear detail, as well as for their sharp political and social commentary and satire. Her works often draw from global historical and mythological references, and speak of the social and political inequalities and complexities of South Africa. Violence, racial anxiety, and sexual repression are ideas commonly represented in the works. Combining both thematic and technical skill, Victor impresses powerful ideas on the viewer, never shying away from controversial or taboo subject matter.

Victor earned her BA Fine Arts Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg with a major in printmaking. She became the youngest recipient of the Volkskas Atelier Award in 1988, awarding her a ten-month stay at the Cité International des Artes in Paris. Since 1990, Victor has been a part-time lecturer, teaching drawing and printmaking, at various South African institutions including the University of Pretoria, Wits Technikon, Pretoria Technikon, Open Window Academy, Vaal Triangle Technikon, the University of the Witwatersrand, Rhodes University, and the University of Johannesburg. In late 2012 and early 2013 she completed a residency in China.

Victor’s works are included in many collections, including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the New York Public Library, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others.