Frances Goodman

b. 1975, Johannesburg, South Africa

 

"The tools of Frances Goodman's practice are the materials and labour of the beauty industry. Goodman deftly deploys fake nails, false eyelashes, earrings, pearls and sequins, among many other items found in the beauty isle, to create works that are simultaneously seductive and appalling. The repetitive and meticulous gestures used to make her works mimic the repetitive and meticulous labors of nail salons and beauty maintenance regimes. By employing these materials and efforts Goodman's work draws attention to popular culture definitions that narrow the possibilities of female identity to extremes of consumption, aspiration, obsession, desire and anxiety. 

Though Goodman's work reflects a society in which objects can define and burden people it also celebrates the use of these materials as symbols of empowerment. The beauty industry hinges on the implicit and the explicit message that personal betterment can be found in a product. Loyalty to this system can amount to extreme investments of time and money, leaving its adherents with little opportunity to consider themselves under a structure of control. However, the prefabricated nails and long lashes used in Goodman's works are evidence of women appropriating the beauty industry's complexities as a means of self-expression and empowerment."

 

Jennie Lamesdorf

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Education

2003 Laureate of the Higher Institute for Fine Arts, (HISK), Antwerp, Belgium.
2000 Master of Arts Degree: Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK.
1999 Postgraduate Diploma, Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK.
1997 Bachelor of Arts Degree: Fine Art, Honors, University of The Witwatersrand (WITS), Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

Awards and Merits

 

2021 [upcoming] EKWC Ceramics Residency, Oisterwijk, Netherlands.
2020 Awarded Residency at Yaddo, New York, USA. Cancelled due to Covid.

2014 - Cecily Brown Fellowship for outstanding woman artist, USA.

2004 - Werkvbeurzen, Flemish Community, Belgium.

2002 - Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, Scholarship, South Africa

2000 - Visiting Arts Award for JUNCTURE, Visiting Arts, UK

            - Martienssen Prize First Prize Winner, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

            - University of the Witwatersrand, Anya Millman Travel Scholarship, South Africa.

            - University of the Witwatersrand Sculpture Merit Award, South Africa 

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Collections

 

Fondazione Fiera Milano, Milan, Italy.

Missoni Collection, Milan, Italy.

South African Reserve Bank Art Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town, South Africa.

Matthais & Gervanne Leridon Collection, Cape Town, South Africa.

Foundation Sindika Dokolo, Luanda, Angola.

21c Museum Hotels, Oklahoma, USA.

National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA.

Francis J. Greenburger Collection (The FJGC), New York City, USA.

The Pérez Art museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, USA.

Martin Nielson Collection, Denmark

Rand Merchant Bank Corporate Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.

South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Art Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.

University of South Africa (UNISA) Art Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Joseph Kouli Collection, Paris, France.

 

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Curating

 

2000 - JUNCTURE, The Granary, Cape Town and Studio Voltaire, London.

 

 

Teaching

 

2008- 2012 - BA FA 3rd and 4rh year, University of the Witwatersrand, Gauteng, South Africa.

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Solo Exhibitions and Presentations
2021 [upcoming] Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York, USA.
2020 Uneventful Days, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
Viewing Room, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
2019 CHART Art Fair (Gallery Specta), Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
MiArt (SMAC Gallery), Fiera Milano City, Milan, Italy.
2018 Offstage, SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dallas Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Fashion Industry Gallery, Dallas, USA.
Spit/Swallow, Galleri SPECTA, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Giant Nails, Indigo Hotel, New York City, USA.
2017 Beneath Her, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York City, USA.
2016 Degreened, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair (Richard Taittinger Gallery), New York City, USA.
Rapaciously Yours, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York City, USA.
2015 Lick It, Windows@Walgreens, ArtCenter/South Florida, Miami, USA.
Let Down Your Hair, Art-in-Buildings (AiB), New York City, USA.
2014 Nail Her, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Sweetest Ride, TM Projects, Geneva, Switzerland.
2013 Sub Rosa, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Cars and Girls, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa.
2012 Touched, (Art) Amalgamated, New York City, USA.
2011 Goodman Garage, 19 5 TH Ave- Westdene, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Forever, KwaZulu Natal Society of Arts (KZNSA), Durban, South Africa.

Till Death Us Do Part, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2010 Keeping Up Appearances, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels, Belgium.
2009 Morbid Appetites, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
2008 Careless Whispers, Galleri SPECTA, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Young Guns, Project Space at RC Art Fair, (Aeroplastics Contemporary), Brussels, Belgium.
2007 Wishful Thinking, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2005 Petite Mort, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2004 Wanting, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Afdeling Kortrijk (KULAK), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Kortrijk, Belgium.
David, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa.
2003 Intimate/Inanimate Moments, The Process Room, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland.
2000 Frances Goodman and Moshekwa Langa at the Goodman Gallery, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg,
South Africa.

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Group Exhibitions and Presentations

 

2021 Rarity Summer Contemporary Exhibition, Rarity Gallery Mykonos
2021 [upcoming] "Ubuntu, a Lucid Dream", Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France.
2020 Romancing the Mirror, MOCA Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
MY BODY, MY RULES, PAMM, Miami, USA.
CHART Decentralised, Galleri Specta, Copenhagen, Denmark.
A Show of Solidarity, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
Matereality, Iziko South African National Museum, Cape Town, South Africa.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC),
Cape Town, South Africa.
Making of Ourselves, BKhz, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Proto, A4 Art Foundation, Cape Town.
2019 Africa Alive, Galerie Osenat, Paris, France.
Artissima (SMAC Gallery), Oval Lingotto Fiere, Turin, Italy.
FNB Art Joburg (SMAC Gallery), Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Hoping, Longing, Dreaming, Gallery SPECTA, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ampersand Foundation Award 21 Years Celebration Exhibition, University of Johannesburg Art Gallery
(JAG), Johannesburg, South Africa.
Roosevelt Private Views, Aeroplastics, Brussels, Belgium.
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair (Richard Taittinger Gallery), New York City, USA.
Delicate Industry, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York City, USA.
I Am... Contemporary Women Artists of Africa, National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, USA.
Material Insanity, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech, Morocco.
GrowBox Art Project, African Artists for Development (AAD) Incubator Programme, Zeitz Museum of
Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town, South Africa.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC),
Cape Town, South Africa.
2018 Communicate, Galleri Specta, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Wish You Were Here, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
FNB Joburg Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
I SEE YOU, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia.
OFF-SPRING: New Generations [Travelling Exhibition], 21C Museum, Lexington, USA.
Not A Single Story, NIROX Foundation Sculpture Park in collaboration with the Wanås Foundation,
Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Red Hour, curated by Simon Njami, Dak’Art: African Contemporary Art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal.
artmonte-carlo (SMAC Gallery), Grimaldi Forum Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC),
Cape Town, South Africa.
The Future is Female [Travelling Exhibition], 21C Museum Hotel Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA.
2017 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), London, UK.
All Things Being Equal, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town, South Africa.
X: Part III, SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Beauty and its Beasts, Durban Art Gallery, Durban, South Africa.
Art Work: An Exploration of Labor, Art-in-Buildings (AiB), Ghent, USA.

X: Part II, SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa.FNB Joburg Art Fair, (SMAC Gallery), Sandton
Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Art Rotterdam (Galleri SPECTA), Van Nellefabriek, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The ARMORY SHOW (SMAC Gallery), Piers 92 and 94, New York City, USA.
Contemporary Istanbul (SMAC Gallery), Istanbul Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey.
OFF-SPRING: New Generations, 21c Museum Hotel Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, USA.
Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art, 21c Museum Hotel Louisville, Louisville, USA.
CHART Art Fair, (Galleri SPECTA), Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Le Jour Qui Vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Galerie des Galeries at Galeries Lafayette, Paris,
France.
Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Cape Town,
South Africa.
2016 The Future is Female, 21c Museum Hotel Louisville, Louisville, USA.
Herselves, Blueproject Foundation, Barcelona, Spain.
Summer Show ‘16, SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Forever, BUBOX, Kortrijk, Belgium.
Defilages, 100 Titres Gallery, Brussels, Belgium.
FNB Joburg Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
UPSTART/STARTUP, SMAC Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC Gallery), Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Cape Town,
South Africa.
2015 The ‘F’ Word: Feminism in Art, The Untitled Space, New York City, USA.
LUSH, SMAC Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Princess in the Veld, The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK), Oudtshoorn, South Africa.
CHART Art Fair (Galleri SPECTA), Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
ARTISSIMA (SMAC Gallery), The Oval - Lingotto, Turin, Italy.
Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists, [Travelling
Exhibition], curated by Simon Njami, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC,
USA.
TWENTY: Contemporary Art from South Africa, [Travelling Exhibition], curated by Gordon Freud & Hank
Forman, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa; University of Johannesburg Art Museum,
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Money Makes the World Go Round, Galleri SPECTA, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Nirox Winter Sculpture Fair, Nirox Foundation Sculpture Park, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2014 Art Basel Miami Beach (Goodman Gallery), Miami, USA.
The Remarkable Lightness of Being, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels, Belgium.
Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited By Contemporary African Artists, [Travelling
Exhibition], curated by Simon Njami, Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art (SCAD),
Savannah, USA; Museum für Mordern Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt, Germany.
TWENTY: Contemporary Art from South Africa, [Travelling Exhibition], curated by Gordon Freud & Hank
Forman, Turchin Centre for the Visual Arts, Boone, USA.
FNB Joburg Art Fair (Goodman Gallery), Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Shop Front and Centre, Infecting the City: Public Arts Festival, Cape Town, South Africa.
States of Mind, Maison Particulière, Brussels, Belgium.
2013 FIAC (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain), (Goodman Gallery), Grand Palais, Paris, France.
FNB Joburg Art Fair (Goodman Gallery), Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The ARMORY SHOW (Goodman Gallery), Piers 92 and 94, New York City, USA.
2012 Positive Tension, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa.
Fox with Issues, Galleri SPECTA, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Touched, (Art)Amalgamated, New York City, USA.
Spring Open Studios, International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York City, USA.
Art Brussels (Aeroplastics Contemporary), Tour & Taxis, Brussels, Belgium.
Fireflies, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels, Belgium.
Advance/…Notice, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2011 Summer Show, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
FIAC (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain), (Goodman Gallery), Grand Palais, Paris, France.
Het Betoverd Bos (The Enchanted Forest), Sint- Maria-Aalter, Aalter, Belgium.
Not Human, Nor Stone, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
EAT ME, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
Horizon 2, CultuurCentrum Brugge, Bruges, Belgium.
El Mapa: Cartografias Criticas, Medellín Museum of Modern Art, Medellin, Colombia. Art Dubai

(Goodman Gallery), Dubai, UAE.
The ARMORY SHOW (Goodman Gallery), Piers 92 and 94, New York City, USA.
Luxury and Degradation, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany.
2010 In Other Words, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Lust and Vice. The Seven Deadly Sins from Durer to Nauman, Zentrum Paul Klee; Kunstmuseum Bern,
Bern, Switzerland.
In Context, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Lingering Whispers, The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church, London, UK.
US, [Travelling Exhibition], curated by Simon Njami and Bettina Malcomess, IZIKO South African
National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
Keeping Up Apperances, Art Brussels (Aeroplastics Contemporary), Tour & Taxis, Brussels, Belgium.
FNB Joburg Art Fair (Goodman Gallery), Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The ARMORY SHOW (Goodman Gallery), Piers 92 and 94, New York City, USA.

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Selected Publications
 

2018 Gosslee, J and Zises, H. | 2018, 50 Contemporary Women Artists: Groundbreaking Contemporary Art
from 1960 to Now, Schiffer Publishing, Limited. Pennsylvania, USA.
2017 Goodman, F. | 2017, Beneath Her, Richard Tattinger Gallery, New York City, USA.
2016 Goodman, F. | 2016, Rapaciously Yours, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York City, USA.
2013 Goodman, F. | Selected Works 2007-2013, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, South Africa.
2010 Goodman, F. | Save Me From What I Want, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2007 Goodman, F. | Selected Works 2000-2007, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Selected press highlights
 

Haden-Guest, A. 2019. Anthony Haden-Guest on The Female Lens at Richard Taittinger. Whitehot Magazine.
[online].
Varienter, M. 2019. The Female Gaze findes. Kunsten.nu. [online]. 
Roux, C. 2019. FNB Art Joburg – Creative Gateway to Africa. Financial Times. [online]. 
Catlin, R. 2019.Women’s Voices Ring with a Resounding Roar in this New Show. Smithsonian Magazine. [online].
Dafoe, T. 2019. What to See at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, From Sculptures
Made of Acrylic Nails to a Lush Painting of Adam and Eve. Artnet. [online].
Walker, A. 2019. Lowly textiles are superbly wrenched from their contexts to create high art. Business Day.
Wickouski, S. 2019. I Am: Contemporary Women Artists are Rewriting the Narratives of Africa. Ms. Magazine.
[online]. 
Black, H. 2019. Discover Nail Art… But Not As You Know It. Elephant Magazine. [online]
Corrigall, M. 2017. Surface Tensions. House & Leisure. March 2017, p.38-40.
Rodney, S. 2016. South African Artist Nails It with Sculptures Made from Thousands of Press-Ons. Hyperallergic
[online]. 
O’Toole, S. 2016. Wedding Crash: The fabric of dreams. Times Live [online].

Van Niekerk, G. 2018. Huge Sequin Portraits Paint SA Women In Different Light.Huffpost ZA [online].
Van Niekerk, G. 2014. Frances Goodman’s manicured bed of nails. :Mail&Guardian [online]. 
Goodman, E. 2017. The Future Is (Still Female: Feminist Art for the 21st Century. Hyperallergic [online].