Portrait by Pieter Hugo, 2016
Gabrielle Guy is an art book designer and visual artist based in Cape Town, South Africa. Over a prolific career spanning two decades, she
has designed numerous artist monographs, exhibition catalogues and photo books, most notably for Igshaan Adams, William Kentridge, Zanele Muholi, Frida Orupabo and Pieter Hugo.
Beginning as art director of the quarterly journal Art South Africa, under the editorship of first Sophie Perryer, then Sean O’Toole (2003-2005), her first experience on an art book was the bumper 10 years 100 artists (Bell-Roberts, 2004). Working closely with Stevenson gallery since 2006, she has designed their identity and worked on many books and catalogues for their artists. In 2025 she completed Fragments of Fietas, a new photobook for revered South African photographer David Goldblatt, published by MACK and edited by Brenda Goldblatt. Other major book projects include William Kentridge’s Why Should I Hesitate (2019, Norval Foundation), Jo Ractliffe’s Photographs 1980s – now (2020, Steidl), and African Artists: From 1882 to Now (2021, Phaidon).
Gabrielle’s own artistic practice has developed alongside this productive career. Working in a diverse range of mediums including photography, drawing, site-specific art-making, collage, and book-making, her work is characterised by an endless fascination with both the built and natural environments, the monolithic, and relationships within systems, structures, series and space.
She has held three independent solo exhibitions (2017, 2021, 2026), presented printed-matter projects at A4 Arts Foundation (2021, 2022) and been included on group shows at Stevenson (2021), Under Projects (2023) and the AVA (2026). Currently enrolled in the artist mentorship programme Sessions, facilitated by Dominique Edwards, she will be presenting work in their final group exhibition in October 2026, in Cape Town.
Clients, publishers and institutions include: The Walther Collection, Steidl, Phaidon, blank projects, El Espacio 23 (The Jorge M. Pérez Collection), Zeitz MOCAA, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Prestel, Hatje Cantz, Art Joburg, Norval Foundation, Jacana, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Bonniers Konsthall, Hurtwood, Skira, Unit, The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust, MACK, The South African Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia (2017).
Artists worked with include: Sabelo Mlangeni, Steven Cohen, Zander Blom, Zanele Muholi, Jo Ractliffe, William Kentridge, Penny Siopis, Claudette Schreuders, Pieter Hugo, Deborah Poynton, Jane Alexander, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Gerhard Marx, Serge Alain Nitegeka, Dada Khanyisa, Guy Tillim, Frida Orupabo, Wim Botha, Paul Edmunds, Berni Searle, Odili Donald Odita, Hylton Nel, Daniel Naudé, Edson Chagas, Brett Murray, Tyler Hobbs, Nicholas Hlobo, Dominique Cheminais.
An inclusion in an Aperture magazine article (print and online), 2024
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@gabrielleguy
has designed numerous artist monographs, exhibition catalogues and photo books, most notably for Igshaan Adams, William Kentridge, Zanele Muholi, Frida Orupabo and Pieter Hugo.
Beginning as art director of the quarterly journal Art South Africa, under the editorship of first Sophie Perryer, then Sean O’Toole (2003-2005), her first experience on an art book was the bumper 10 years 100 artists (Bell-Roberts, 2004). Working closely with Stevenson gallery since 2006, she has designed their identity and worked on many books and catalogues for their artists. In 2025 she completed Fragments of Fietas, a new photobook for revered South African photographer David Goldblatt, published by MACK and edited by Brenda Goldblatt. Other major book projects include William Kentridge’s Why Should I Hesitate (2019, Norval Foundation), Jo Ractliffe’s Photographs 1980s – now (2020, Steidl), and African Artists: From 1882 to Now (2021, Phaidon).
Gabrielle’s own artistic practice has developed alongside this productive career. Working in a diverse range of mediums including photography, drawing, site-specific art-making, collage, and book-making, her work is characterised by an endless fascination with both the built and natural environments, the monolithic, and relationships within systems, structures, series and space.
She has held three independent solo exhibitions (2017, 2021, 2026), presented printed-matter projects at A4 Arts Foundation (2021, 2022) and been included on group shows at Stevenson (2021), Under Projects (2023) and the AVA (2026). Currently enrolled in the artist mentorship programme Sessions, facilitated by Dominique Edwards, she will be presenting work in their final group exhibition in October 2026, in Cape Town.
Clients, publishers and institutions include: The Walther Collection, Steidl, Phaidon, blank projects, El Espacio 23 (The Jorge M. Pérez Collection), Zeitz MOCAA, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Prestel, Hatje Cantz, Art Joburg, Norval Foundation, Jacana, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Bonniers Konsthall, Hurtwood, Skira, Unit, The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust, MACK, The South African Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia (2017).
Artists worked with include: Sabelo Mlangeni, Steven Cohen, Zander Blom, Zanele Muholi, Jo Ractliffe, William Kentridge, Penny Siopis, Claudette Schreuders, Pieter Hugo, Deborah Poynton, Jane Alexander, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Gerhard Marx, Serge Alain Nitegeka, Dada Khanyisa, Guy Tillim, Frida Orupabo, Wim Botha, Paul Edmunds, Berni Searle, Odili Donald Odita, Hylton Nel, Daniel Naudé, Edson Chagas, Brett Murray, Tyler Hobbs, Nicholas Hlobo, Dominique Cheminais.
An inclusion in an Aperture magazine article (print and online), 2024
@gabrielleguy