ABOUT

Ruarc Peffers

BA (Hons) (Fine Art); MSc (Modern Art: History, Curating, Criticism)

Ruarc is a seasoned art specialist with over twenty years of experience in the field. He holds a BA in Fine Art from the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town and a master's degree from the University of Edinburgh.

His career began at Stephan Welz & Co., in association with Sotheby's, where he served as Senior Art Specialist and Director, specialising in African modernism. He later joined Strauss & Co., playing a key role in developing their online bidding platform and bringing significant collections and artworks to market. In 2016, he co-founded Aspire Art, establishing it as a leading player in the African art auction industry.

Peffers has been instrumental in re-positioning underrepresented Black Modernists, championing artists such as Albert Adams, Dumile Feni, Sydney Kumalo, Gladys Mgudlandlu, Julian Motua, Ephraim Ngatane, George Pemba, Helen Sebidi, and Gerard Sekoto, amongst others.

Beyond the art market, Peffers has a longstanding commitment to expanding social access to art and supporting community initiatives. He serves in a directorial capacity for the Asele Institute and Professor Uche Okeke Legacy and was formerly a board member of VANSA (Visual Arts Network of South Africa). He has consulted for institutions including the South African Reserve Bank and has led numerous talks, charity auctions, and events in support of various causes. His advocacy extends to education, healthcare, and human rights in South Africa.

Since 2004, Peffers has helped raise over R50 million for charities, educational institutions, and nonprofit organisations through initiatives such as the Siyakhula Michaelis Auctions (University of Cape Town), WITS Graduate Auctions (University of the Witwatersrand), the Wits Art Museum Endowment Auction, the University of Stellenbosch Graduate Auctions, the Artist's Proof Studio Education Endowment Auctions, Doctors Without Borders, and the Witkoppen Clinic, amongst others.

With a background in the secondary market, Peffers has played a key role in bringing attention to significant artists, groups, and collections. Notably, he was responsible for the promotion and sale of the Harry Lits Collection of Amadlozi Art, featuring works by Sydney Kumalo, Ezrom Legae, Cecil Skotnes, and Edoardo Villa, as well as the Nwabisa Xayiya Collection of Modern and Contemporary South African Art, the first-ever single-owner collection by a Black female collector to come to market.

Dr. Matthew Blackman

BA (Hons) (English Literature & Philosophy); MSc (Philosophy); PhD

Matthew has over fifteen years of experience working in the art world. He was the interim director of the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) and the editor of the art magazine ArtThrob. As a journalist and art critic, he has worked for The Art Newspaper, Art Review, and World of Interiors. Matthew has written as a journalist on corruption in South Africa, as well as on art, literature, and history. He has a PhD from the University of East Anglia and an MSc in philosophy from the London School of Economics.

Matthew has worked as a lecturer and tutor at both the University of Cape Town and the University of East Anglia, lecturing on the philosophy of aesthetics and literature. He has co-authored several best-selling books on South African history as well as contributing academic papers to peer-reviewed journals. He co-runs Blackman Rossouw, a creative media agency that designs and publishes books as well as developing and designing websites. An artworld veteran, he has a wealth of knowledge and strong relationships with top collectors, artists, academics and artworld influencers.