Mohau Modisakeng, Untitled, Qhatha Series, 2010–2011. Estimate: £20,000–30,000.
Works by Mohau Modisakeng engage race, the militarisation of society, and the deep divides of post-apartheid South Africa and the post-colonial continent. The artist has been featured in several prominent international exhibitions and was most recently featured as part of the 2017 Venice Biennale South Africa Pavilion.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Bodys Isek Kingelez, Base King. Estimate: £10,000–15,000.
Base King is an example of one of Kingelez’s futuristic models, which he made in the later portion of his life. His work is heavily influenced by the city of Kinshasa and the impact of space-race influence Soviet architecture within the context of a newly post-colonial Africa. These joyful and utopic models were created in order to present a better, more peaceful, way of living. The artist will be having a complete retrospective in 2018 at
MoMA
.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Pascale Marthine Tayou, Chalk Or Charcoal Q.
Estimate: £30,000–50,000.
Known for creating works out of found materials, Pascale Marthine Tayou focuses on themes of cultural identity in the face of a rapidly globalizing world. Tayou’s chalk works are reminiscent of traditional West African tapestries and are composed of carefully orchestrated patterns that form a cohesive whole.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga. Mangbetu. Estimate: £8,000–12,000.
This work is from the artist’s Mangbetu series. The artist explores the relationship between the industrializing African mega city of Kinshasa and the local cultural traditions of communities such as the Mangbetu.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Ibrahim Mahama, Chale Wote. Estimate: £60,000–90,000.
Chale Wote is a rare early work from a site-specific work in the artist’s home country, Ghana. In Chale Wote the artist offers a multi-layered perspective on Ghana’s history of colonisation with its impact on both economic factors of trade and modern cultural identity.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
El Anatsui, Untitled. Estimate: £25,000–35,000.
El Anatsui is an internationally acclaimed artist who transforms simple materials into complex assemblages that create distinctive visual impact. His use of these materials reflects his interest in reuse, transformation, and an intrinsic desire to connect to his continent while transcending the limitations of place.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Ben Enwonwu, Africa Dances. Estimate: £20,000–30,000.
Ben Enwonwu is the father of Nigerian Modernism. Africa Dances comes from his Africa Dances series. Enwonwu was an advocate of new modern Nigerian national culture. It was in this context that he created this work, using symbolic imagery to illustrate his views on modernity and tradition.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, À La Warhol.
Estimate: £50,000–70,000.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby explores her hybrid identity as an African woman living in America, and narrates her experience of finding herself with two cultural notions of home and belonging. À La Warhol is a self-portrait illustrated in a pensive, self-reflective state, a stark contract to Warhol’s way of seeing women in popular culture.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Chéri Samba, J'aime La Couleur. Estimate: £20,000–30,000.
Chéri Samba is known as the DRC’s most popular artist and was one of the principle founder of the Popular Painting movement. J’aime la couleur is one of his most celebrated depictions and is exemplary of the artist’s signature bold and satirical style.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Athi-Patra Ruga, The Exile According To The Elder. Estimate: £20,000–30,000.
This intricate self-portrait by Athi-Patra Ruga is part of a larger ongoing series in which the artist depicts himself as characters from his fictitious matriarchal nation of Azania. Created with the intention of infusing his character with dimension and authenticity, the present work is a representation of The Elder of Azania, one of Ruga’s many Azanian alter egos and the only male inhabitant of the state. Exiled after the First Azanian War (1994-2008), Athi-Patra Ruga draws a direct comparison between The Elder and his own father, who was exiled from South Africa during the country’s liberation struggle.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Nicholas Hlobo, Unxeme. Estimate: £40,000–60,000.
Nicholas Hlobo is known for his frequent use of rubber inner tubing, silicone, thread and ribbons. Hlobo makes use of stitching and weaving, techniques which in South Africa are traditionally undertaken by women. He explores themes of sexual identity, masculinity vs. femininity and ethnicity.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Barthélémy Toguo, Forever Growing.
Estimate: £20,000–30,000.
Barthélémy Toguo explores the relationship between the developing world and the west through lenses such as the displacement of people and the use of available resources. Monochromic water coulour paintings such as Forever Growing—where we see humans morphing into natural or animal forms--are meant to act as a sort of documentation of travel and a commentary on the notion of a hybrid identity.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London
Sotheby’s second dedicated auction of Modern and Contemporary African Art took place in London on 28 March 2018. With a strong focus on the postcolonial era, highlights from this sale included works by Ibrahim Mahama, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Pascale Marthine Tayou alongside works by Mohau Modisakeng, Athi-Patra Ruga, El Anatsui, Irma Stern, Nicholas Hlobo, William Kentridge and Ben Enwonwu. Click ahead to view the slideshow.
Modern & Contemporary African Art
28 March 2018 | London