Above: Johan Thom, The Reader: For DK , 2014, blackboard paint, white chalk, and colored pencils on paper, 3′ 4“ x 4′ 10”.

I LOVED DAVID KOLOANE. He was kind and decent and an excellent, multifaceted artist.

On a number of occasions David plainly said to me that contemporary artists should actively participate in the broader world of art by writing, curating, and advocating for art. This he did perhaps most concretely by cofounding the Bag Factory Artist Studios in 1991, in Johannesburg. The Bag Factory was the first space in South Africa where black and white artists could work together on equal footing. It was also there that I first met David after I joined the organization as a studio artist roundabout mid-2006.

David was a quiet man with a gentle laugh who only ever really became animated when you spoke to him about art. You could find him at almost any time in his studio reading, working on a new artwork, or napping contentedly. Somehow finding him there napping always made me feel that things would be fine no matter what.

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