Deborah Bell & David Krut on their Collaboration in Print
About
the Collaboration
David Krut Publishing celebrates a longstanding collaboration of 27 years with renowned artist Deborah Bell at Strauss & Co.
The well-known studio enabled Bell to explore and experiment with her printmaking practice over the years. In addition, DKP has launched at least three publications on Bell’s work in this time.
Deborah Bell, Breath, drypoint and spitbite aquatint with softground on hand-coloured chine collé
Deborah Bell, Embody Me, drypoint and gampi
“What happens in the David Krut Workshop (DKW) when an artist is at work is wonderful to witness. Working alongside a talented artist like Deborah Bell opens a myriad of pathways for a printer. Making a print is a process requiring expertise in complicated techniques, intuition that comes from experience, and alchemy, which transforms and combines elements into something new. Much of what we do in the workshop requires us to put our trust in each other’s hands. Both artist and printer blossom as they master this skill. One thing is certain: we push our boundaries.”
– Jillian Ross (2017)
About
Deborah Bell
Deborah Bell is one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists. Bell received her BAFA (Hons) and MFA degrees at the University of the Witwatersrand. She works in a range of media on canvas and paper, produces drypoint etchings and large-scale bronzes. Her earlier more political work has given way to a broader, deeper investigation into the border between mortality and immortality, matter and spirit, presence and absence, the quotidian and the mythic, the grounded and transcendent. Bell has collaborated on various historically important projects with contemporaries such as William Kentridge and Robert Hodgins. Her work is represented in public and private collections around the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY, USA; the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA; the Hara Museum, Tokyo, Japan; and the IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town. As well as a career as an artist, Bell has worked as a lecturer at various South African tertiary institutions, including the University of the Witwatersrand.
About
The David Krut Workshop
The David Krut Workshop (DKW) collaborates with artists to help them create new works, focusing on challenging techniques and aesthetic forms. Located at Arts on Main in Johannesburg’s Maboneng Precinct, DKW was one of the first spaces to join this creative hub in 2010. Originally opened on Jan Smuts Avenue in 2002, David Krut brought in master printers from abroad and imported special materials to advance printmaking in South Africa.
From 2004 to 2020, Master Printer Jillian Ross led the workshop before returning to Canada to open her own studio. Now managed by a team of skilled young printers, DKW is well-equipped with a letterpress, three etching presses, and a steel-facing tank, and it uses top-quality inks and paper. Over the past 20 years, DKW has collaborated with numerous local and international artists, such as William Kentridge, Deborah Bell, Diane Victor, Olivia Botha, Heidi Fourie, Senzo Shabangu, Stephen Hobbs, Maja Maljevic, Pebofatso Mokoena, Helena Uambembe, Anna van der Ploeg, Zhi Zulu and more, solidifying its reputation as a leading printmaking workshop in South Africa.
Deborah Bell in the studio
Art Club
Wilhelm van Rensburg, Senior Strauss & Co Specialist and Head Curator, will be in conversation with Deborah Bell and David Krut.
Tuesday, 3 June 2025 at 6pm
89 Central Street, Houghton
Johannesburg
