Henri Vergon

Henri Vergon (6 August 1968 - 15 May 2020) was a Belgian-born art dealer based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Born in Brussels, Vergon graduated from EDHEC Business School and worked in both the United States and Paris before joining the French Institute of South Africa in Johannesburg as a cultural officer in 1995.[1]

Vergon founded the Afronova gallery in Newtown, Johannesburg in 2005.[2] Afronova was originally a physical gallery exhibiting modern and contemporary works. Notable exhibitions included Malick Sidibé (Mali, 2007), Ricardo Rangel (Mozambique, 2008), Gerard Sekoto (South Africa, 2008) and Billie Zangewa (Malawi/South Africa, 2004).[2] With partner Emilie Demon Vergon moved the gallery to Braamfontein in 2010 before deciding to close the physical space of the gallery and Afronova as a platform was formed: “Vergon described Afronova as “a polyphonic platform for African contemporary expressions”.”[1]