Auction Room African Art Catalogue

THE AFR I CAN AR T AUC T I ONCONTEMPORARY AND MODERN AR T FROM AFR I CA AND I T S D I ASPORA

18TH OC TOBER 2013

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Auction Room’s The

African Art Auction: Contemporary and Modern Art from Africa

and its Diaspora. I am proud to present what is an eclectic

range of important works from artists from Africa, its diaspora,

as well as a few artists who are closely associated with the

continent. The works in this auction have been carefully

selected to appeal to a diverse range of collectors: whether

a fi rst time buyer looking to acquire a work at accessible

price ranges, collectors in African art for whom many of the

artists represented will be familiar, museums with existing or

planned African contemporary collections for whom we have

included larger installation pieces as well as emerging artists,

or those new to this exciting and dynamic segment of the art

market. Above all, I hope this auction will convey something of

the strength, diversity and excitement to be found in African

modern and contemporary art.

We are honoured to have some really outstanding lots in this

auction. Malian artist Abdoulaye Konate’s monumental and

prophetic tapestry, Power and Religion, is in my opinion one

of the most important works to have been produced on the

African continent over the last ten years. In Three Wanderers

in the City we have one of the fi rst paintings that the great

Nigerian master Twins Seven Seven exhibited and sold at the

age of 23. Pascale Marthine Tayou’s outstanding work Home

Sweet Home is a testament to the realities of modern life

where home is less to do with geography and more to do with

human relationships that span the globe. Skunder Boghossian’s

painting is a moving Homage to Abebe Bikila - the great

Ethiopian marathon runner. We have two powerful works by

the highly acclaimed Nigerian artist Nnenna Okore, Lace and

Conjoined, a major and widely exhibited wooden work from El

Anatsui, Coins on grandma’s Cloth and the utterly compelling

Les Cyclistes by the extraordinary Senegalese artist Mamady

Seydi. These are just a few of the many highlights in this

auction of over sixty works.

We believe that the online software that we have created

at The Auction Room will provide the perfect platform for

selling African Art with its ability to reach a truly international

audience. We hope that this auction is the fi rst step towards a

happy marriage between two exciting new markets.

Ed Cross

African Art Specialist

The Auction Room

1

ABLADE GLOVER (b. Ghana, 1934)

ORANGE AND BLUE CONTRAST

Oil on canvas

Signed (on face of work), dated 1998

123 X 87cm (48.4 x 34.3in)

Estimate: £3,400 - £5,500

To place a bid on a lot & for more information go to www.theauctionroom.com

“Ablade Glover is one of Ghana’s foremost painters, his

abstract forays full of vibrant colour, light and activity. Glover’s

paintings encompass a wide range of subjects but the passion

remains the same; the exuberance of Africa itself, the warmth

of the sun, the bustling market stalls, the brightly-attired

crowds, people at prayer and the energy of Ghanaian life.

Ablade Glover sees art as a tool to explore the reality of his

time, to investigate the relationship between the traditions

of Ghana and the omnipotence of Western culture. His work

refl ects these polar opposites; his use of the palette knife and

oil paint are Western techniques, while the manner in which

he builds up the surface of his canvases a clear reference to

designs, patterns and textures of the traditional Ashanti cloth,

kente.

Ablade believes that the artist is a guardian of traditional

values in contemporary society because he embodies the

culture, traditions and beliefs of the social-economic reality of

the time. The artist is the vessel from which we drink from.”

Source Moray Mair, Mutantart

LO T 1

2


FRÉDÉRIC BRULY BOUABRÉ (b. Cote D’Ivoire, 1921)

CONNAISSANCE DU MONDE

Series of ten drawings

Pen and ink and wax pastel on paper

Each signed and dated (verso)

Each drawing 20 x 14cm (7.9 x 5.5in)

Estimate: £4,500 - £ 7,500

LO T 2

3

TWINS SEVEN-SEVEN(b. Nigeria, 1944 – 2011)

THE THREE WANDERERS IN THE CITY

Oil and acrylic on canvas

Signed ‘Twins 77 - Oshogbo 1967’ (on face of work)

88 x 88cm (34.6 x 34.6in)

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000


The Three Wanderers in the City is one of Twins Seven-Seven’s

fi rst major works - exhibited and sold in Ibadan at

his fi rst exhibition in 1967 when the artist was only 23 years

of age.

Unlike many of the artist’s other works dominated by brown

earthy colours, this painting is unusual for its strong, expressive

primary colours fusing subject matter from ancient Yoruba

mythology with an electric, urban energy.

LO T 3

4


EL ANATSUI (b. Ghana, 1944)

CHIEF

Etching on paper

Signed ‘El Anatsui 87’ (lower right)

48 x 33 cm (18.9 x 13in)

Edition 4 of 20

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

VIRGINIA RYAN(b. Australia, 1956)

LES FEMMES DE GAGNE A LA RUE DU COMMERCE 1

Acrylic on canvas

Signed and dated, ‘Virginia Ryan 2012’ (lower right)

144 x 185cm (56.7 x 72.8in)

Estimate: £3,000 - £4,000

PETERSON KAMWATHI (b. Kenya, 1980)

UNTITLED (NCHI – MALI)

Woodcut plate, Printing inks on composite board

40 x 46cm (15.7 x 18.1in)

Estimate: £1,400 - £2,400

LO T 4

LO T 5

LO T 6

5

JOHN GOBA(b. Sierra Leone, 1944)

ARIA BABY

Oil on wood; porcupine quills

2013

157 x 160 x 110 cm (61.8 x 63 x 43.3in)

Estimate: £6,500 - £8,500

BUNMI BABATUNDE(b. Nigeria, 1957)

OMIDAN

Carved Ebony wood

2011. Signed

183 x 30 x 30cm (72in x 11.8 x 11.8in)

Estimate: £7,500 - £10,000


LO T 7 LO T 8

6


In Life Goes On (Lagos) Olaku creates an imaginary street from

elements drawn from his perpetual study of his own city. Life

goes on here in the early hours of the morning where traffi c

is reduced to a small but steady fl ow. The artist evokes an

anonymous narrative of unrecorded lives, paying homage to

the energy of Lagos, one of the great African metropolises,

and the work ethic and resilience of its people. We see the

artist’s continuing fascination with atmosphere, refl ection

and refracted light and the process of making the transient

permanent.

ABIODUN OLAKU(b. Nigeria, 1958)

LIFE GOES ON (LAGOS)

Oil on canvas

2012. Signed (on face of work)

96.5 x 112cm (38 x 44.1in)

Estimate: £12,000 - £14,000

LO T 9

7

AMON KOTEI*(b. Ghana, 1915 – 2011)

UNTITLED

2004. Signed and dated, 2004 (lower right)

Oil on canvas

95 x 70cm (37.4 x 27.6in)

Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000


This fi ne later work from 2004 is part of an extensive body

of work by Kotei devoted to the celebration of women.

Much of his work was inspired by the full fi gures of market

women from Accra’s Makola market. Kotei is one of a small

band of modernist Ghanaian artists which include Albert

Osabu Bartimeus, who are recognised as fathers of Ghanaian

contemporary art.

The solid, almost monumental (mostly female) characters that

are the subjects of his paintings, exude a sense of pensiveness

as well as strength. Colour as a concept and a reality was

fundamental to Kotei’s practice - something to be cherished

and celebrated through painting. So whilst some critics have

seen Fauvist infl uences in his paintings because of his use

of intense primary colours alongside more subdued tones,

the artist preferred to see this as a direct response to his

perception of the world.

* Please note that import VAT at the rate of 5% will be added to the hammer price

on this lot.

LO T 10

8

STEVE BANDOMA (b. Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1981)

COLONIZED

Mixed media with collage on paper

Signed and dated Bandoma, 2012 (lower right)

100 x 70cm (39.4 x 27.6in)

Estimate: £2,200 - £3,400

CHÉRI CHERIN (b. Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1955)

LE POUVOIR DU TEMPS PRÉSENT

Acrylic on canvas

Signed and dated ‘Cheri Cherin 2011’ (lower right)

208 x 136cm (81.9 x 53.5in)

Estimate: £3,400 - £4,500


LO T 11 LOT 12

9


EL ANATSUI*(b. Ghana, 1944)

COINS ON GRANDMA’S CLOTH

Mixed media on African hardwood

Signed and dated 1992

64 x 140cm (25.2 x 55.1in)

Estimate: £26,000 - £36,000

LO T 13

El Anatsui is one of Africa’s greatest contemporary artists and

was the fi rst African-based artist to achieve global “superstar”

status. He was born in Ghana in 1944 but has lived and worked

for much of his life in Nigeria, where he is Head of Sculpture

in the Fine and Applied Arts Department at the University of

Nigeria, Nsukka.

Although his practice has evolved over a forty-year career,

El Anatsui has always been fascinated by the ways in which

materials can be remodelled and transformation enacted. This

has lead him to work with a broad range of materials, from

wood to found objects like discarded bottle tops and foils,

employing a wide range of processes such as sewing, welding

and sawing to shape and transform the media he uses. Through

this process of reinvention Anatsui reveals the complex

history of cultural exchange both within Africa and between

Africa and the rest of the world. His work is situated in his own

continent in terms of inspiration and materials but with a

10

universal meaning that has ignited the global imagination.

In his celebrated cloth works, which are inspired by Ghana’s

Kente cloth, the discarded tops of liquor bottles have specifi c

historical references, alcohol being one of the principal goods

traded for slaves in West Africa.

El Anatsui’s wooden sculptures pre-date his “cloth” works and

are a crucial and often undervalued part of his oeuvre. Coins

on Grandma’s Cloth was created in 1992 and is a particularly

fi ne example from a series of wall hung works using

interchangeable planks of hardwood that began in 1982 with

processes involving burning, cutting and painting. Anatsui

fi rst used the chainsaw as a drawing tool in 1980 enabling him

to cut through blocks of wood, leaving a jagged surface that he

likened to the scars left by European colonial encounters with

Africa. He produced a number of sister works referencing his

grandmother’s cloth including Remnant of Grandma’s cloth in

1991 and the hanging strips of timber used in these works is in

itself a reference to the weaving techniques of the Ewe and the

Asante people. The use of carved planks was also inspired by

the wood carvers from the Akwa area of Southeastern Nigeria

who used a chip-carving technique to create geometric forms

and motifs from the “Uli” aesthetic.

Since its dramatic arrival on the international art scene at the

2007 Venice Biennale, El Anatsui’s work has had unparalleled

international exposure at many of the world’s greatest

Museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The

British Museum, The Pompidou Centre, The Smithsonian

Museum, the Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf and recently

at the Royal Academy in London.


on this lot.

To place a bid on a lot & for more information go to www.theauctionroom.com 11

In the week leading up to making this image, Gideon Mendel

was witnessing increasing levels of violence in KTC and

Crossroads Squatter Camps.

He took this photograph very early in the morning, having

sneaked passed police roadblocks to an area of complete

devastation; a wasteland of destroyed shacks and possessions,

torched the previous day.

There he found a woman trying to recover what she could from

the ruins of her shack, he captured the image of her leaving the

site carrying sheets of corrugated iron with her. Shortly after

these events the government declared an Emergency making

all photography of political violence and confl ict illegal.

Mthethwa is predominantly known for his bold, large-

format, colour photographs of marginalized communities in

South Africa. But, as well as being one of the world’s leading

photographers, Mthethwa is also a painter. Going to School is

one of a rare series of pastel works from the 1990’s.

“His style of portraiture (regardless of the medium), situates

his subjects intimately in the context of their work or homes,

environments that often appear impoverished or neglected.

But rather than portraying an exotic or lesser “other,” as

has so often been the case with portraits of Africans, the

artist collaborates with his subjects and creates images that

emphasize their humanity and agency.

” Source: The Progress of Love, Exhibition catalogue

To place a bid on a lot & for more information go to www.theauctionroom.com12

GIDEON MENDEL (b. South Africa 1959)

A WOMAN RECOVERS MATERIALSFROM HER BURNT HOME

Vintage silver fi bre photographic print

1986. Signed and dated 1986 (verso)

30cm x 41cm (11.8 x 16.1in)

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

ZWELETHU MTHETHWA (b. 1960, South Africa)

GOING TO SCHOOL

Pastel on paper

1998. Signed and dated ‘Zwelethu ‘98’ (lower right)

67 x 98cm (26.4 x 38.6in)

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000

LO T 14 LOT 15


PETER CLARKE (b. South Africa, 1929)

BLUE MONDAY

Woodcut

Signed ‘Clarke’ (lower right)

27 x 34cm (10.6 x 13.4in)Edition 3 of 36

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

LARRY OTOO*(b. Ghana, 1956)

MARKET WAVES

Acrylic on canvas

2009. Signed “L Otoo” (lower right), 2009

70 x 86cm (27.6 x 33.9in)

Estimate: £2,400 - £3,400

* Please note that import VAT at the rate of 5% will be added to the hammer price on this lot.

LO T 16

LOT 17

LOT 18

ALBERT OSABU BARTIMEUS*(b. Ghana, 1927)

MENDING NETS

Oil on canvas

60 x 76cm (23.6 x 29.9in)

Estimate: £3,400 - £4,500


13


Mabunda’s work with munitions has its origins in his

participation in the Transformation des armes en objets d’art

project in 1998. His “thrones” have attracted widespread

attention and attained an iconic status. They reference the

Western world’s often dubious fascination with collecting

the thrones of traditional African chiefs, and the irregular

and often violent manner in which some African leaders have

gained and and clung to power.

The Elegance Throne is one of the fi nest of the throne works

that Mabunda has produced since he started his work with

recycled munitions in 1998. The piece has a remarkable

creative energy, freedom of movement and lightness of touch

that make it one of the artist’s most inspired works.

LO T 19

GONÇALO MABUNDA(b. Mozambique, 1975)

THE ELEGANCE THRONE

Wood and recycled weapons

2009

122cm x 92cm x 76cm (48 x 36.2 x 29.9in)

Estimate: £10,000 - £12,000

14

RICHARD MUDARIKI* (b. Zimbabwe, 1985)

COUP D’ETAT

Acrylic on Canvas

2013. Signed (lower right)

95 x 65cm (37.4 x 25.6in)

Estimate: £1,600 - £2,600


on this lot

SOLY CISSÉ (b. Senegal, 1969)

HEAT

Acrylic on paper

2013. Signed ‘Soly 2013 DK’ (lower right)

100 x 73cm (39.4 x 28.7in)

Estimate: £1,600 - £2,600

LO T 20 LOT 21

15To place a bid on a lot & for more information go to www.theauctionroom.com


Kolade Oshinowo who was born in Ibadan in 1948, is one of

Nigeria’s most respected artists. An infl uential arts educator

and mentor to younger artists, as well as a prolifi c painter he

has held numerous solo shows and participated in over sixty

group exhibitions over a long and increasingly successful

career.

Oshinowo writes: “The Red Beads is a celebration of the African

woman. Often the African woman, is seen from the point of

view of an enslaved, oppressed and depressed individual due

to so many factors that includes some cultural and traditional

beliefs. But I believe in the glorifi cation of women. I try most

times to celebrate and highlight the beauty of the African

woman enhanced by her traditional costumes and accessories.

This is in addition to her signifi cant contribution to her family,

community and humanity at large. The red beads are worn

during festivals, celebrations and other rare occasions. The

painting is a mixed media work exploring the use of fabric

waste collected from fashion designers and tailors. Its overall

blue hue is complimented by the red colour of the beads.”

LO T 22

KOLADE OSHINOWO(b. Nigeria, 1948)

THE RED BEADS

Mixed media on canvas

2012. Signed and Dated, 2012 (Lower Right)

24 x 91cm (24 x 35.8in)

Estimate: £10,000 - £15,000

16


Working with iron and a variety of materials including

sackcloth and wood, Seydi creates mythological half animal,

half human fi gures in installations inspired by Wolof folk

tales and through his exposure to Léopold Sédar Senghor

and Abdoulaye Sadji’s collection of folk tales “Leuk le Lièvre”

written in 1953 to both teach French and reconnect Senegalese

students with their oral folk history.

Les Cyclistes is an outstanding work based on the Wolof saying

“When people race each other around a tree it is impossible

to know who is in the lead unless you were there at the start”.

Amongst many possible interpretations of this is the crucial

role a knowledge of history plays in making informed

judgements about the present.

Mamady Seydi was awarded the Intergovernmental Agency

of the Francophonie at Dak’ Art 2000. He has participated

is several residencies in France and the United States,

including at; Art Omi, New York (2007) and John Paul Blachère

Foundation, France (2005) and has exhibited in Africa, Europe

and the Unit

LO T 23

MAMADY SEYDI(b. Senegal, 1970)

LES CYCLISTES

Wood, fabric, iron, paper

2012.

5 pieces

Each piece c.70 x 50 x 26cm (27.6 x 19.7 x 10.2in)

Estimate: £6,500 - £8,500

17

Kosrof is internationally recognised for the way in which he has

used Amharic script as the foundation of his work. Amharic,

derived from the ancient language Ge’ez, is one of the few

written systems indigenous to Africa. Though Ethiopia has

centuries-old traditions of two-dimensional art that include

script, such as Coptic icon paintings accompanied by written

narratives, Kosrof was the fi rst artist to develop an art form

based solely on the script. Taking the language as a starting

point, Kosrof follows an intense improvisational process, with

parallels to Jazz music composition, during which he explores

the ways in which the letters and symbols can be transformed

by distorting, dissecting, pairing and interlocking the shapes

to create abstract images no longer directly linked to language

and not limited to their original meanings, accessible to

anyone. Whist the works reference issues facing contemporary

Ethiopia and the world in general, the ideas are embedded in

the work and emerge organically without premeditation.


on this lot

WOSENE WORKE KOSROF*(b. Ethiopia, 1950)

WORDS OF PEACE

Acrylic on canvas

2006. Signed and dated 2006 (on the face of the work)

64 x 64cm (25.2 x 25.2in)

Estimate: £5,000 - £7,500

LO T 24


Homage to Abebe Bikila was inspired by Bikila the legendary

Ethiopian runner who triumphed at the 1960 Rome Olympics

where he captivated a world audience by winning the

Marathon, running barefoot. Boghossian created this work

eleven years after the runner’s early death, and at a time when

Ethiopia was in the devastating grip of the Derg junta and in

an era of widespread pessimism and despair about African

politics and the future of the continent. In this work, with its

emotionally powerful, luminous red background and strong

primary colours, Boghossian deliberately reminds viewers

of Bikila’s inspirational victory, drawing specifi c attention to

the extraordinary achievements of this courageous man and

to the unique human potential of a continent. The device of

the scrolls in the work underline the indelible nature of Bikila’s

contribution, and simultaneously his continent’s long, rich

cultural history.


on this lot

SKUNDER BOGHOSSIAN*(b. Ethiopia, 1937 – 2003

HOMAGE TO ABEBE BIKILA

Acrylic on board

1984. Signed and dated 1984 (on face of work)

56 x 76cm (22 x 29.9in)

Estimate: £10,000 - £15,000

LO T 25


BENJAMIN OFFEI NYARKO ‘BON*(b. Ghana,1951)

CONTEMPLATION 4

Oil on canvas

1996. Signed BON, (top right)

65 x 61cm (25.6 x 24in)

Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000


on this lot

KOFI AGOSOR*(b. Ghana, 1970)

SQUARE MARKET

Acrylic on Canvas

1998

76 x 62cm (29.9 x 24.4in)

Estimate: £2,400 - £3,400


on this lot


LO T 26 LOT 27

20


Sokari Douglas Camp CBE is an acclaimed Nigerian artist,

born in Buguma, Nigeria in 1958. She studied at the California

College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California between

1979 and 1980, before coming to London to complete her B.A.

Degree at Central School of Art and Design and M.A. at the

Royal College of Art.

Douglas Camp works chiefl y with steel, creating fi gurative

works inspired by Nigeria, her country of birth, and specifi cally

Kalabari culture and masquerade traditions. Her knowledge of

her own Kalabari culture was deepened and nurtured by her

guardian, the British anthropologist Robert Horton.

Much of her sculpture is constructed from welded steel and

her bronze casts are more unusual.

In Chief Amachree we see an aff ectionate portrait of King Abbi

Karibo Amachree IV who was King of Douglas-Camp’s Kalabari

people from 1863 - 1900, part of a Royal lineage that still

exists today and extends back to 1770. Dressed in traditional

clothes and regalia, complete with the hat synonymous with

the people of the Niger Delta, the sculpture was produced in

an attempt by the artist to be commissioned to replace the

sculpture of Chief Amachree in Buguma Town Square which

was damaged in 1993/4.


on this lot

SOKARI DOUGLAS CAMP*(b. Nigeria, 1958)

CHIEF AMACHREE

Cast bronze

1994

34 x 25 x 21.5cm (13.4 x 9.8 x 8.5in)

Edition 1 of 2

Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000

LO T 28

21

Nnenna Okore was born in 1975 and spent her early life in

Nsukka, Nigeria. She studied painting at the University of

Nigeria where she graduated with First Class Honours, after

which she worked under the mentorship of El Anatsui, who

played a key role in her artistic development. Okore went on

to receive an M.A. and M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University

of Iowa in 2004 and 2005.

Okore, who is now widely recognised as one of the most

important contemporary artists that Nigeria has produced,

takes much of her visual inspiration from the environment and

specifi cally from her formative years spent in Nigeria - these

infl uence the textures, colours, materials and techniques she

combines to create her largely abstract, and often intricate

installations. For the most part, Okore uses found objects

and natural or biodegradable materials in her practice, such

as newspaper, ropes, thread, wax, yarn, burlap, dye, coff ee,

starch and clay. The repetitive and labour-intensive processes

she relies on to transform her media are ones she has learned

by watching her fellow Nigerians perform daily tasks including

weaving, sewing, rolling, twisting and dyeing.

Lace explores the critical balance between fragility and

fi rmness found within delicately formed fabric. Using a

combination of looped ceramic pieces and man-made fi bre for

its articulation, the exploration yields a strong yet diaphanous

fl uid form.


on this lot

NNENNA OKORE*(b. Nigeria, 1975)

LACE

Rope and clay

2009

216 x 81 x 10cm (85 x 31.9 x 3.9in)

Estimate: £10,000 - £14,000

LO T 29


Through the process of remoulding and reinventing unwanted

materials Nnenna Okore provides a commentary on cultures

based on consumption and disposal as well as recycling

cultures both within Africa and worldwide. Her work is about

the complex, strong and sometimes fragile relationships and

linkages that make up the fabric of society and life itself.

The idea of relationships and fusion of distinct but similar

elements is the subject of Conjoined. Also evident is a play

with textures and directional movement through the use of

multiple repetitive patterns.

NNENNA OKORE*(b. Nigeria, 1975)

CONJOINED

Handmade ceramic woven into burlap

2011

122 x 107 x 18cm (48 x 42.1 x 7in)

Estimate: £10,000 - £14,000


LO T 30

23

Suzanne Wenger, born in 1915 in Graz, Austria, was an active

founding member of the Vienna Art-Club in 1947.

“Suzanne Wenger and Ulli Beier fi rst lived in Ibadan, then

moved to Epe and fi nally to Oshogbo in 1960. This is where she

immersed herself into Yoruba poetry, mythology and religion

and was initiated as a priestess without ever forsaking her

existence as a modern artist. From this time she dedicated her

eff orts to the restoration and re-creation of derelict shrines of

the Yoruba religion and did not have any further exhibitions

for 25 years.”

Source: Wolfgang Denk, English version by Gusti Merzeder-

Taylor, The Susanne Wenger Foundation.

The full title of this major work is “Obotala und Oduduwa

Kampfen um das privileg der erschaff ung der welt” or “Obotala

and Oduduwa fi ght for the privelege of being the creator of

the world”

SUZANNE WENGER(b. Austria, 1915 – 2009)

OBOTALA

Oil on wood

61 x 92cm (24 x 36.25in)

Estimate: £4,000 - £5,000

LO T 31


MÁRIO MACILAU, (b. Mozambique, 1984)

A YOUNG GIRL WITH A TOY Grand Hotel Series

Pigment Inkjet colour photograph on Cotton Rag paper

2011. Signed, with a certifi cate of authenticity

120 x 80cm (47.2 x 31.5in)

Edition 1 of 6

Estimate: £1,000 - £1,600

DANIELE TAMAGNI(b. Italy, 1975)

ERIC MAZZAKAMPA AT RAPHA BOUNZEKI’S PARTY Gentlemen of Bacongo series

Lambda C- print

2007/8. Signed sticker on verso, 2007-2008

92 x 66 cm (36.2 x 26in)

Edition 2 of 10

Estimate: £1,500 - £2,400


SUZANNE WENGER(b. Austria, 1915 – 2009)

IWIM

Lithograph print

1960. Signed “Suzanne Wenger” (lower right)

50 x 59cm (19.7 x 23.2in)

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

LO T 32

LOT 33

LOT 34

25


Cyprien Tokoudagba was born in 1939 and died in 2012. He

lived and worked in Abomey, Benin.

At an early age, Tokoudagba was sent to a Vodun temple to

learn the skills of the priesthood. Whilst he chose not to follow

a career as a priest, Vodun religious symbols can be seen

throughout his work. In addition, his work as an art restorer

at The National Museum in Abomey gave him a profound

understanding of Benin’s rich cultural and religious history,

which was central to his own paintings that are steeped in

symbolism and mythology.

‘Ayéfodo’ is a Yoruba word that means ‘life is long- you never

know what can happen’.

This work references the Egungun, traditional secret societies

that invoke the spirits of dead ancestors to expose the

strengths and weaknesses of the community and deliver

messages, warnings and blessings to the community.

In this painting, the Egungun is holding a blue stick with the

symbol of the elephant, which means ‘I am as strong as an

elephant in the middle of a river (the blue colour of the stick

and plate represents the river), I fear no one’.

LO T 35

CYPRIEN TOKOUDAGBA(b. Benin, 1939-2012)

AYÉFODO

Acrylic on canvas

2008. Signed ‘Tokoudagba CyprienBenin Abomey’ (lower right)

162 x 130cm (63.8 x 51.2in)

Estimate: £3,400 - £4,500

26


One of Nigeria’s most celebrated visual artists Prince Twins

Seven-Seven was born ‘Taiwo Olaniyi Oyewale-Toyeje Oyelale

Osuntoki’ in 1944 in Nigeria and died in Ibadan in 2011. The

sole survivor of seven successive sets of twins, he renamed

himself Ibeji Meje-Meje, or “Twins Seven-Seven” and as a

member of a royal lineage of the Yoruba people he took the

title of Prince.

Twins Seven-Seven had worked as an itinerant singer and

dancer before he walked into one of the Mbari Mbayo art

workshops led by Georgina and Ulli Beier in Oshogbo in 1964.

He took to painting immediately, and became one of the stars

of the Oshogbo school. While a modernist in style, he took as

his primary subject the rich religious and historical traditions

and mythology of his Yoruba ethnic group.

The Hunter is a particularly fi ne example of the artist’s work

from the late 1980’s, bought by its current owner from Twins

Seven-Seven’s show at The Italian Embassy in Lagos in 1988.

In 2005 Twins Seven-Seven was awarded UNESCO Artist for

Peace. He achieved international fame, exhibiting at major

museums across the world including the Pompidou Centre

and the Musée de L’Homme in Paris, the Museum of Modern

Art in New York, the National Museum of African Art in

Washington, the Houston Contemporary Art Museum and the

National Museum of Art in Lagos, Nigeria.

TWINS SEVEN-SEVEN(b. Nigeria, 1944 – 2011)

THE HUNTER

Mixed media on layered plywood

1988

239 cm x 120 cm (94.1 x 47.2in)

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000

LO T 36

27

Pascale Marthine Tayou was born in 1966 in Yaoundé,

Cameroon and is one of the leading contemporary artists from

the continent of Africa. Originally a lawyer, he began his career

as an artist in the 1990’s, giving himself a new double name

in the female form Pascale (e) Marthin (e). He left Cameroon

to set up a base in Belgium but has described himself as a

traveler. This nomadic aspect of his life deeply informs the

work he produces, which often explores thoughts connected

to human environment, travel, identity and shared meaning

across cultures.

Tayou’s work spans a wide range of media, including drawing,

sculpture, installation, video and collage and the materials he

uses are varied; from found objects such as plastic bags and

dolls to things with geographical and cultural references, like

fruits, masks, feathers from Africa and pins, pearls and Belgian

lace.


PASCALE MARTHINE TAYOU(b. Cameroon, 1966)

HOME SWEET HOME

Collage, drawing, metal frame

2012

144 x 195cm (56.7 x 76.8in)

Estimate: £36,000 - £40,000

LO T 37

28

Home Sweet Home is a superb and relatively rare example of

a stand alone mixed media work as opposed to the much

larger installation pieces that the artist is well known for.

Tayou, albeit with tongue in cheek, once described himself as

a Belgian artist because he lives and works in that country;

here he explores notions of “home” and identity through his

childlike drawing style which in itself evokes the emotional

importance of home for both children and adults. He

constructs a map of the complex organic bonds that make up

a metaphorical home that can encompass diff erent continents

and which he considers to be “everywhere” as humanity is

now privy to so many cultural infl uences that in reality we no

longer come from a single place. The materials used in the

piece include, chalk, pearls and pins.

Tayou’s work has been featured in numerous leading

International exhibitions, such as the Biennials of Istanbul

(2003), Lyon (2005), Venice (2005 and 2009) and Dak’Art,

Senegal (1996). His work has been championed by prominent

curators such as Nicolas Bourriaud, who in 2002 gave him

a solo show at the Palais du Tokyo and selected him for the

Altermodern Tate Triennial in 2009, and Okwui Enwezor, who

included him in Documenta 11 (2002).


ISMAILA MANGA(b. Senegal, 1957)

LA SAVANNE DANS LA PLUIE

Pencil and Mixed Media on Canvas

2007. Signed “Ismaila Manga” on Verso

142 x 245cm (55.9 x 96.5in)

Estimate: £6,000 - £8,000

LO T 38


Ismaila Manga is one of Senegal’s most interesting artists. He graduated

from Senegal’s Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1982 and later spent

thirteen years in Montreal where he attended L’Ecole International du

Design de Montréal before returning to Africa to rediscover his own

continent. This urge to re-immerse himself in African culture lead

him to take extensive exploratory journeys into neighbouring Mali to

study the culture of the Dogon and other aspects of Malian culture.

“I use the passing of days and nights to mark on canvas the imprint of

time, letting the latter do its own work, materializing in rust obtained

by the oxidation of metals. The photos I use in my work are just

memories which I project on to the canvas, marked by time and drawn

with a lead pencil, the simplest of materials that an artist can use.”

30


Ben Enwonwu is recognised as one of the great names of

African modern art. He studied at Ruskin School of Art and

the Slade. Enwonwu’s engagement with contemporary

Western training was as unequivocal as his connection to the

traditional art of his ancestors which had had such an impact

on the course of modern art.

In Africa Dances Enwonwu explores one of his favourite,

central themes – dance and ceremony. Here we see the artist’s

characteristic elongation of fi gures to suggest movement and

rhythmn.

“Like culture, Art changes its form with the times. It is setting

the clock back to expect that the art form of Africa today

must resemble that of yesterday otherwise the former will not

refl ect the African image. African art has always, even long

before western infl uence, continued to evolve through change

and adaptation to new circumstances. And in like manner, the

African view of art has followed the trend of cultural change

up to the modern times.” 1950, Ben Enwonwu.


on this lot

BEN ENWONWU*(b. Nigeria, 1924-1994)

AFRICA DANCES

Watercolour and gouache on card

1959Signed Ben Enwonwu (lower left), Dated 1959

27 x 19cm (10.6 x 7.5in)

Estimate: £9,000 - £12,000

LO T 39

31

Abdoulaye Konaté was born in Diré, Mali in 1953. He lives and

works in Bamako, Mali and is widely considered to be of the

greatest artists working in Africa today. He studied painting

in Bamako and Havana, Cuba for seven years adding to his

experience his appropriation of textiles to mixed media

installations.

When paint and canvas were unavailable to him, Abdoulaye

Konaté began using materials native to Mali, namely raw or

dyed woven cloth. The large scale textiles of sewn and applied

fabric which he creates not only support the local economy

but also reference the West African tradition of using textiles

to commemorate and communicate. He combines the

distinctive aesthetics of the local with global subject matter

including democracy and dictatorship, religion and the state

(particularly the rise of fundamentalism within Islam), AIDS,

deforestation and the inequalities between North and South,

merging political commentary and traditional craftsmanship.


ABDOULAYE KONATÉ(b. Mali, 1953)

POWER AND RELIGION

Embroidered wall hanging, cotton and thread

2011

693 x 296cm (272.8 x 116.5in)

Estimate: £55,000 - £75,000

LO T 40

32

His response is never one of despair, but of hope, exploring the

human condition through thoughtful and critical expression.

Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), commissioned

Abdoulaye Konaté to make this major work for its fi fth annual

window commission in December 2011.

Power and Religion (Pouvoir et Religion) 2011 is a 7m long

textile work, which explores the position of Christianity and

Islam within political and cultural life. The symbols of religion

and government stand out graphically against the grey

background, which is covered with white spots. The pieces of

this fabric represent the plumage of the guinea fowl, a bird

imbued with mythical symbolism in sub Saharan Africa.

When this work was fi rst exhibited at INIVA in London in

2011 the artist spoke of his anxieties about the future of his

country in the face of increasing radicalisation amongst the

youth. Since then we have seen war break out in Mali and

the destruction of ancient and irreplaceable manuscripts and

cultural artefacts.

One of Konate’s most important works, Power and Religion

(Pouvoir et Religion) stands as a monumental and prophetic

statement about one of the biggest issues facing Africa and

the world today the uneasy and complex relationship between

secular power and religion.

In 2008 Konaté was nominated for the Artes Mundi Prize.

Major group shows include documenta 12 in 2007 and Africa

Remix, Contemporary Art of a Continent in 2005 at the

Hayward Gallery, London which toured to Paris, Tokyo and

Dusseldorf. Konaté and his work have received several awards,

including in 2002 the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mali

and Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France. is

Director of the Conservatoire for Arts & Media in Bamako.



LO T 41 LOT 42

GEORGE LILANGA(b. Tanzania, 1934-2005)

FOOTBALLER

Acrylic on carved hardwood

2011. Signed “Lilanga”

66 x 25 x 20cm (26 x 9.8 x 7.9in)

Estimate: £1,200 - £2,200

GEORGE LILANGA(b. Tanzania, 1934-2005)

UBORA WA MAZIWA

Oil on canvas

Signed (lower right)

98 x 83cm (38.6 x 32.7in)

Estimate: £2,400 – 3,400

34

MALICK SIDIBÉ (b. Mali, 1935)

HERCULE AFRICAIN

Silver gelatin print from Malick Sidibé

1970. Signed and dated ‘Malick Sidibé 2011’ (lower right)

50 x 40cm (19.7 x 15.7in)

Unique print

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

MALICK SIDIBÉ(b. Mali, 1935)

BOXEURS EN DÉMONSTRATION

Silver gelatin print from Malick Sidibé

1965. Signed and dated ‘Malick Sidibé 2011’ (lower right)

50 x 40cm (19.7 x 15.7in)

Unique print

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

LO T 43 LOT 44

35To place a bid on a lot & for more information go to www.theauctionroom.com


CAMILLE-PIERRE PAMBU BODO(b. Dem. Republic of the Congo,1953)

JE M’ÉTONNE N°1

Acrylic on canvas

2006. Signed and dated ‘Art Bodo 2006’ (lower right)

170 x 425cm (66.9 x 167.3in)

Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000

In Je m’étonne n°1 or ‘I am amazed‘, one of Bodo’s largest and

most ambitious paintings, explores his astonishment at the

ways of the world and at his own imaginative response to it.

We see here people fl ying in peanuts and pencils and birds

and helicopters made of leaves - a satirical commentary on the

hold that witchcraft still has in Africa. On the left, the train

and cars are a symbol of the ever-increasing speed of modern

urban life. The muscular man representing humanity’s

over-infl ated view of its own strength.

LO T 45

36

OWUSU-ANKOMAH(b. Ghana, 1956)

WEISS SCHWARZ (WHITE AND BLACK)

Oil on Nettle cotton cloth

1989. Signed and dated “Owusu Ankomah 89” (top right)

Estimate: £2,400 - £3,400


NATHALIE MBA BIKORO(b. France, 1985)

FAMILY TREE,

Photo- etching, Black ink on ivory paper

2011. Signed (lower right), dated 2011

21 x 74.5cm (8.3 x 29.3in)

Edition 1 of 2

Estimate: £1,000 - £1,600

LO T 46

LOT 47

LOT 48

NDARY LO*(b. Senegal, 1961)

THE WALK

Welded iron

2013. Signed ‘N.L’

35 x 41 x 8cm (13.8 x 16.1 x 3.1in)

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000


37


LO T 49 LOT 50

VICTOR EHIKHAMENOR(b. Nigeria, 1970)

OF MEN AND GOD


2011

132 x 81cm (52 x 31.9in)

Estimate: £3,600 - £4,500

DOMINIQUE ZINKPÈ(b. Benin, 1969)

UNTITLED

Mixed media on paper

2008. Signed (Lower right)

46 x 37cm (18.1 x 14.6in)

Estimate: £1,000 - £1,600

38


CHUKS ANYANWU(b. Nigeria, 1937)

FULANI GIRLS

Oil on board

1986. Signed and dated ‘Chuks 86’ (lower right)

120 x 60cm (47.2 x 23.6in)

Estimate: £3,000 - £4,000

GEOFFREY MUKASA(b. Uganda, 1954 – 2009)

GIRL IN YELLOW (DRESS)

Oil on canvas

2006. Signed ‘MUKASA’ (lower right)

127 x 31cm (50 x 12.2in)

Estimate: £3,400 - £4,500

LO T 51 LOT 52

39


LO T 53

LOT 54

LOT 55

LUDOVIC FADAIRO*(b. Benin, 1947)

ARCHIVISTE

Pigments and acrylic on card

2012

120 x 80cm (47.2 x 31.5in)

Estimate: £3,000 - £4,000


VIYÉ DIBA*(b. Senegal, 1954)

TENSION II


63.5 x 56cm (25 x 22in)

Estimate: £3,600 - £4,500


EDOSA OGIUGO(b. Nigeria, 1961)

MODEL STUDY

Charcoal Drawing on paper

Signed “Edosa Ogiugo” and dated 2012, (Lower Left)

71 x 51cm (28 x 20.1in)

Estimate: £1,600 - £2,600

40


Sinzogan’s mixed-media and fi ne pen-and-ink works conjure

the world of the spirits and their gods (vodun and orisha),

the gods to whom millions of enslaved Africans would have

prayed, departing through the ‘Gates of No Return’ in the slave

ports of the West African coast. Yet Sinzogan does not portray

these ports as sites of loss, but as triumphant arrival points for

the homeward return of lost spirits about to be reborn. The

galleons in his works are not the dark evil-smelling slave ships

of the Europeans, but are in the process of being transformed

by their African cargoes into colourful and triumphant symbols

of resistance. Above the sepia-tinted decks of the phantom

caravelles racing under full canvas towards the African coast,

the sails come to life with the richly coloured motifs of the

Egungun masquerades, which celebrate the ancestor’s return

to their native villages. These powerful symbolic images work

as a salve to ease the lingering sore of that long compact of

blood sealed between the African and European powers. Thus

does art, by holding up a mirror refl ecting our shared past,

render more clearly visible the path of our common future.

Source: The October Gallery

JULIEN SINZOGAN(b. Benin, 1957)

RENCONTRE DANS UNE AUTRE VIE

(MEETING AGAIN IN ANOTHER LIFE)

Oil and coloured ink on paper

2011. Signed “Sinzogan” (lower right)

111 x 77cm (43.7 x 30.3in)

Estimate: £7,000 - £9,000

LO T 56

41

RACHID KORAÏCHI(b. Algeria, 1947)

ALBERT CAMUS

Lithograph on paper

2008

38 x 28cm (15 x 11in)

Estimate: £1,200 - £2,000


TAYO QUAYE(b. Nigeria, 1954)

TITLES

Linocut print

1994. Signed and dated 1994, (lower right)

91.5 x 71cm (36 x 28in)

Edition 9 of 15

Estimate: £2,800 - £3,800

TCHIF (FRANCIS NICAISE TCHIAKPE)*(b. Benin, 1973)

ABSTRACT IV


2013. Signed “Tchif” (lower left)

101 x 101cm ( 39.8 x 39.8in)

Estimate: £1,400 - £2,400


LO T 57

LOT 58

LOT 59

42

FIDELIS ODOGWU EZE(b. Nigeria, 1970)

ROYALTY

Metal sculpture

2011. Signed and dated 2011, (lower right)

77.5 x 63cm (30.5 x 24.8in)

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000

JOSEPH MBATIA “BERTIERS”(b. Kenya, 1963)

KENYA’S CRAZIEST BAR

Oil on canvas

2008

125 x 98cm (49.2 x 38.6in)

Estimate: £3,000 - £4,000


KWAME AKOTO ‘ALMIGHTY GOD’(b. Ghana, 1950)

SURREALISM

Acrylic on board

2010. Signed “Almighty God” (lower right)

120 x 80cm (47.2 x 31.5in)

Estimate: £1,600 - £2,600

LO T 60

LOT 61

LOT 62

43


Born in Kenya in 1976, Anthony Okello graduated from the

Buru Buru Institute of Fine Art and lives and works in Nairobi.

He is considered to be one of the most important East African

artists of his generation and his work is beginning to receive

international acclaim.

This work is from the artist’s enigmatic and powerful

Masquerade Series where he explores issues of human

and racial identity and disguise. A painter of uncommon

imaginative power, much of Okello’s work can be characterised

as allegorical explorations of local mythology.

Anthony Okello has exhibited widely in Kenya as well as

internationally including Uganda, India, France, and the

Netherlands. His work is held in several major private

collections in the U.K. and elsewhere.

ANTHONY OKELLO(b. Kenya, 1976)

UNTITLEDMasquerade series

Oil on canvas

2013. Signed ‘A.Okello’ (lower right)

143cm x 154cm (56.3 x 60.6in)

Estimate: £3,400 - £5,000

LO T 63

44

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