Sean O´Toole

Sean O’Toole is a journalist, art critic and editor based in Cape Town, South Africa. His chief focus is South African art and photography, although having lived in Japan and the United Kingdom his portfolio of work is far more extensive. In 2011, together with Tau Tavengwa, he cofounded Cityscapes, an irregular magazine project of the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. He was previously the editor of the quarterly magazine Art South Africa (2004-10), now Art Africa, and wrote columns for the Sunday Times (2004-10) and London-based art magazine frieze (2010-15). Trained as a lawyer, Sean has published one book of fiction, The Marquis of Mooikloof & Other Stories (2006), and edited two volumes of essays, both with Lien Heidenreich-Seleme. His doctoral research looks at non-formalist art criticism with a focus on the bountiful writing of Johannesburg novelist and essayist Ivan Vladislavić.