10 Exceptional Highlights of Modern and Contemporary African Art

El Anatsui, TAGOMIZOR. Estimate £550,000–750,000

'TAGOMIZOR' by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui is a hanging sculptural work made of aluminium bottle caps and copper wire. Comprising of geometric patterns of black and yellow bands, evoking traditional Ghanaian imagery, 'TAGOMIZOR', like many other works in the Danudo series, presents a unified whole despite its clear geometric divisions.

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Ben Enwonwu, Obitun Dancer. Estimate £150,000–200,000

Enwonwu first started his Africa Dances series during his time in London and wanted to illustrate his own views on the state of modern Nigerian culture at the time using symbolic imagery. He painted scenes of dance and ritual performance from his Onitsha-Igbo heritage.

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William Kentridge, Kinetic Sculpture (Bicycle Wheel). Estimate £70,000–90,000

The present lot is constructed from found objects: the wheels and chain from a bicycle, a megaphone, a tripod and rulers. Through this striking structure Kentridge demonstrates his artistic process of reusing and reclaiming old objects to put to new use.

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Gavin Jantjes, A South African Colouring Book. Estimate £40,000–60,000

Gavin Jantjes’ work ‘A South African Colouring Book’ combines technical skill with political motive and features photographs taken during apartheid. Jantjes compiles his visual information using a new technique of photographic silkscreen printing using images that he collected from archives and literature.

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Alexander Skunder Boghossian, Crossroads. Estimate £40,000–60,000

Skunder’s work, 'Crossroads', is heavily influenced by Skunder’s interest in debtera scrolls, featuring symbols that express the ambiguities of good and evil. Richly textured, ‘Crossroads’ embodies the delicate weaving of lines and the complex interlacing of symbols.

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Kader Attia, Mirror Mask. Estimate £30,000–50,000

Mirror Mask' consists of a combination of found objects: an African ritual mask studded with mirror shards, topped with a crouching wooden figure. The alteration of a traditional African mask refers to the influence of African art on Western modernism.

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Chéri Samba, Je suis le même je ne suis plus le même. Estimate £30,000–50,000

Chéri Samba is one of the four founding figures of the Popular Painting Movement in the Democractic Republic of Congo. This work features Samba’s iconic imagery of ‘ribbon heads’ and comments on the artist’s journey to becoming one of the most renowned artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Pascale Marthine Tayou, Charcoal U, 2013. Estimate £30,000–50,000

‘Charcoal U’ is an excellent example of Pascale Marthine Tayou’s ability to utilize and manipulate found objects and recycled materials to create beautiful forms. In vibrant compositions that recall traditional West African tapestries, Tayou combines marbles, and multi-coloured chalk and charcoal, in carefully orchestrated patterns.

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Fréderic Trigo Piula, Materna. Estimate £20,000–30,000

In ‘Materna’, the artist comments on the cultural tensions that arise with the introduction of imported canned evaporated milk, which begin to replace the traditionally use breastmilk. This work belongs to the artist’s New Fetish series in which he proclaims himself as a modern day Nganga, or healer. His mission is to heal and ward off; to sound the alarm on our modern day fetishisms.

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Bodys Isek Kingelez, New Wax. Estimate £20,000–30,000

Bodys Isek Kingelez is remembered for his sprawling utopic architectural landscapes which are heavily inspired by the African mega-city of Kinshasa, the artist’s hometown. He used commonplace materials, from razors to milk cartons, to create meticulously detailed structures depicting dream-like metropolises.

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