David Paton is an Associate Professor and past (2004 – 2009) head of the Department of Visual Art at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa where he teaches Drawing and Studio Practice at all undergraduate levels. He also supervises postgraduate students’ studies, five of whom have received the prestigious Chancellor’s Medal for Meritorious Postgraduate Study. He received his MAFA at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2001 with a dissertation titled South African Artists’ Books and Book-objects Since 1960 and his PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work, awarded by Viva Voce and without any alteration or addition to the thesis, from the University of Sunderland, UK in 2019. David has curated numerous exhibitions of the book arts in South Africa. In 2017, he headed the project team that hosted the Booknesses exhibitions – showcasing both the renowned Jack Ginsberg Collection of international artists’ books as well as South African book art – and an international colloquium at the University of Johannesburg in 2017. In 2019, David curated Samplings: South African Artists’ Books to inaugurate the Jack Ginsberg Center for Book Art (JGCBA, Wits Art Museum), Wits University. David has authored numerous catalogues of artist’s book exhibitions, some of which are to be found in prestigious library collections such as the National Art Library, London, Oxford University and the University of London; Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Stanford and Princeton Universities, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress, USA. He has also published a number of articles and chapters on the book arts in local and international journals and publications. His artist’s book Speaking in Tongues: Speaking Digitally / Digitally Speaking can be found in the collection of the Jack Ginsberg Center for Book Arts, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt, the San Francisco Center for the Book, USA, the Templeman Library, Canterbury, UK and the von Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands. David hosts the website Artists’ Books in South Africa which won the National Institute for Humanities and Social Science (NIHSS) 2018 award in the Digital Humanities. He is the recipient of the Ampersand Foundation Fellowship to New York in 1999 and again in 2017, when he presented a lecture at the Center for Book Arts, New York, NY. In 2019, he was invited to read conference papers in Berkeley, CA, USA and Bremen, Germany. David is the father of two sons.
• 2020. Journal article. The Bookness of a Book: Cataloguing Affect in South African Artists’ Books.
Library Trends 68(3):521-548. Winter 2020. Johns Hopkins University Press, USA. DOI:
10.1353/lib.2020.0004• 2017. Exhibition catalogue. Booknesses: Artists’ books from the Jack Ginsberg Collection. Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name, organised and curated by David Paton at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, 25 March – 5 May. Published by the Department of Visual Art, University of Johannesburg. ISBN 978-0-86970-796-8.
• 2017. Exhibition catalogue chapter. “Simultaneous journeys: Thematics in the curating of Booknesses: Artists’ Books from the Jack Ginsberg Collection”. In: Booknesses: Artists’ books from the Jack Ginsberg Collection, Department of Visual Art, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Pp 18-61. ISBN 978-0-86970-796-8.
• 2017. Exhibition catalogue. Artists’ books from the Ginsberg Collection, with some South African examples from other collections. Special edition of the original 1996 catalogue published by the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Published on the occasion of thee exhibition, Booknesses: Artists’ books from the Jack Ginsberg Collection, University of Johannesburg and The Ampersand Foundation (TAF), Johannesburg.
• 2017. Exhibition catalogue. Booknesses: Contemporary South African artists’ books. Online catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name, organised and curated by David Paton, Eugene Hön and Gordon Froud, FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg, 24 March – 5 May.
• 2016. Journal article. Mind & matter: Some South African book-artist’s experiences with ‘other’ materials. In: The New Bookbinder, Journal of Designer Bookbinders, Bath, UK. No 36. Pp. 57-62.
• 2016. Exhibition catalogue chapter. Matisse and the book arts. In: Henri Matisse Rhythms and Meaning. Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa. 13 July – 17 September 2016. Pp 117-127. ISBN 978-0-620-68813-0.
• 2015. Journal article. Dark absurdity: Re-reading the work of Gordon Froud. In: De Arte, Taylor & Francis, University of South Africa. 2015 no 91. Pp. 39-62. ISSN 0004-3389.
• 2014. Exhibition catalogue. TEXTures: An exhibition of texts, textures and structures in artists’ books. Published in conjunction with the exhibition held at the Archives & Special Collections, Library and Information Centre, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg. ISBN: 978-0-86970-779-0.
• 2013. Journal article. Stimulus/Response: Scratching away at some intrinsic and extrinsic problems in theorising the artist’s book from the far end of a ‘not-so-dark continent. In: Artist’s Book Yearbook 2014-2015, CFPR, UWE, Bristol, UK. September 2013. Pp. 37-43. ISBN 978-1-906501-07-5.
• 2012. Journal article. Towards a theoretical underpinning of the book arts: Applying Bakhtin’s Dialogism and Heteroglossia to selected examples of the artist’s book. In:
Literator, North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. 2012 33(1) 2012 ISSN 0258-2279. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4102/lit.v33i1.353 • 2010. Article. The Book as a community of practice: Some thoughts on the research project A manifesto for the book: What will be the canon for the artist’s book in the 21st century?. In:
On Making. Integrating Approaches to Practice Led Research in Art and Design. University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture Research Centre, Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD), FADA, University of Johannesburg. ISBN: 978-0-620-49738-1. Available:
http://www.theartistsbook.org.za/view.asp?ItemID=7&tname=tblComponent2 &oname=&pg=research&app=&flt=otherRecent Conference Papers / Public Lectures / Keynote Addresses:
• 2019. Conference paper. Artists’ Books in South Africa: Archiving the Output of a Nation. At: Archives in Motion conference, Zentrum für Künstlerpublikationen / Centre for Artists’ Publications, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany. 8 -10 November.
• 2019. Conference paper. The Jack Ginsberg Collection of Artists’ Books: 25 years of Working with the Collection in South Africa. At: CODEX VII 2019. Symposium and Book Fair, Berkley, California, USA. 3 – 6 February.
• 2018. Conference paper. “The shortcoming of this project is…”: reimagining the role of the artist’s book in South Africa. At: Troubling Legacies, South African Visual Arts Historians Conference, Stellenbosch University, 4 – 6 July.
• 2017. Keynote address. Booknesses: The making of a project in 10 (or more) parts. Artists’ Books workshop and conference. Departments of Fine Art and Journalism, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. 15 – 17 September.
• 2017. Public Lecture. Booknesses: Taking stock of the book arts in South Africa. The Center for Book Arts, New York. 10 May. http://centerforbookarts.org/event/booknesses-taking-stock-of-the-book-arts-in-south-africa/
• 2017. Conference paper. Simultaneous journeys: Relational thematics in curating the exhibition Booknesses: Artists’ Books from the Jack Ginsberg Collection. At: Booknesses: Taking stock of the book arts in South Africa, Colloquium organised by the Department of Visual Art, University of Johannesburg. FADA Auditorium, 24 – 26 March.
• 2015. Conference paper. A great idea at the time: Cataloguing South Africa’s artist’s book production. At:
IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2015, Art Libraries Section, Turning the Tables: Documenting Art in a Global Context. Cape Town, South Africa. Thursday 20 August. Available:
http://library.ifla.org/1279/• 2013. Public lecture. Contemplating curiosities in selected recent exhibitions in the United Kingdom in 2013. Lecture #2 in the Contemplations Lecture Series: FADA Auditorium.
University of Johannesburg. 29th October.
• 2012. Keynote address. Anything, everything but conceptual art! At: Independent Examinations Board (IEB) art teachers’ annual conference. Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre, Johannesburg. 4 February.
• 2012. Conference paper. Artists’ books and their aversion to theory: Applying Bakhtin’s dialogism and heteroglossia to selected examples of the artist’s book. At: Visual Dialogues: South Africa in Conversation. The 27th Annual South African Association of Visual Art Historians (SAVAH) Conference, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 4 – 7 July.
• 2009. Conference paper. Towards an Understanding of What a South African Artist’s Book May Be. At: Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page, North West University, 4th March.
• 2009. Conference paper. The contemporary novel and the artist’s book: A tentative tracing of shared and undermined conventions in selected examples of both. At: The politics of change: Looking backwards and forwards. The 25th Annual South African Association of Visual Art Historians (SAVAH) Conference. University of Pretoria, 9 – 11 July.
• 2009. Colloquium paper. UJ’s MTech in Fine Art: An example of practice-led research. At: On Making: Integrating Approaches in Practice- Led Research in Art and Design. Colloquium; University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Art, Design and Architectures Research Centre, Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD), FADA, University of Johannesburg, 15 – 16 October 2009.
Selected Curatorial Projects:
• 2017. Booknesses: Contemporary South African Artists’ Books. FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg. 24 March – 5 May.
• 2017. Booknesses: Investigating the Body. Emandulo, Chris Diedericks and Charles Hobson Gallery of the SARChI Research Chair in South African Art and Visual Culture, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg. 23 – 31 March.
Selected Recent Exhibitions:
• 2019.
The Ampersand Foundation: 21 Year Celebratory Exhibition, curated by Gordon Froud. UJ Art Gallery, Johannesburg, 11 Sept – 9 Oct
• 2019. Samplings: South African Artists’ Books. Wits Art Museum (WAM), University of the Witwatersrand. In conjunction with the launch of the Jack Ginsberg Center for Book Arts, 25 February – 6 July.
• 2019. Huldeblyk (Tribute) Curated by Elfrieda Dreyer. KKNK Arts Festival, Oudtshoorn. 21 – 27 March.
• 2017. Booknesses: Contemporary South African Artists’ Books. FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg.24 March – 5 May.
• 2012. Coming of Age – 21 years of Artist Proof Studio. Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg. 8 May – 6 June.
• 2011 / 12. JHB Art Fair Fringe: Department of Visual Art Staff & Student Show. Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
• 2010. The Fourth Biennale for the Artist’s Book. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt. 22 April – 14 May.
• 2010.Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page: Oor die Einders van die Bladsy. At: Woordfees: JS Gericke Library, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch; The Gallery of the North-West University, Potchefstroom; FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg. 1 – 6 March; 15 April – 13 May; 12 – 30 July.
My Artworks appear in the following Collections:
• Anglo-American Corporation, Johannesburg.
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt.
• Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
• The Jack Ginsberg Center for Book Arts, Wits Art Museum (WAM), Wits University, Johannesburg.
• Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg.
• Lower Eastside Printshop Print Cabinet, New York.
• Mary Austin Collection, San Francisco Centre for the Book, San Francisco, CA, USA
• MTN Collection, Johannesburg.
• Shumann Sasol Collection.
• University of Johannesburg Collection, Johannesburg.
• Templeman Library, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
• Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
See my academic and professional profiles at: