Fresh-to-market paintings by Pierneef, Preller, Sekoto and Stern to be sold during Johannesburg Auction Week

•  Johannesburg Auction Week presents 247 lots with combined value of R71 million-100 million

•  Exceptional landscapes by modernists J.H. Pierneef and Moses Tladi

•  High-value still lifes by Irma Stern and Alexis Preller

•  Rare Kentridge prints lead specialist sale focusing on South African print studios

• Important contemporary art by Tracey Rose, Athi-Patra Ruga, Billie Zangewa

By CityLife Arts Writer

Strauss & Co, Africa’s leading auction house, announces Johannesburg Auction Week (6-8 November 2023), a series of curated auctions bringing together works by modernist pioneers and contemporary innovators. Among the many highlights are three rare landscapes by Moses Tladi, the first black artist to exhibit in the South African National Gallery, intensive artist focuses on William Kentridge and J.H. Pierneef, and an important textile work from 2008 by Billie Zangewa.

The Evening Sale of Modern and Contemporary Art which takes place on Tuesday 7 November, presents collectors with fresh-to-market paintings, many unseen in decades, by Maggie Laubser, Alexis Preller, Irma Stern and Gerard Sekoto. Bronzes by acclaimed mid-century sculptors Ezrom Legae and Sydney Kumalo lead a strong presentation of influential Amadlozi Group artists, including works by Cecil Skotnes and Edoardo Villa.

Five sought-after Kentridge bronzes, four of them derived from his 2016 series Shadow Figure, lead a superb presentation of contemporary art by Marlene Dumas, Georgina Gratrix and Athi-Patra Ruga. A standalone auction of South African prints from six studios also offers a deep-dive into Kentridge’s fascinating career as a printmaker.

“Johannesburg Auction Week offers fabulous variety, from rare modernist oils and bronzes to contemporary prints, paintings and textiles by artists with significant museum and institutional interest,” says Dr. Alastair Meredith, Head of Sale, Strauss & Co. “Moses Tladi is now highly sought after at market, more so since his acquisition by the Iziko South African National Gallery. William Kentridge and Tracey Rose have recently both received international career retrospectives, in London and New York respectively. A new catalogue raisonné devoted to the sculptures of Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae, coupled with an exhibition in London, has further stimulated interest in these two important mid-century sculptors.”