Spectacular sales achieved at Aspire Art auction in Cape Town
This is as outstanding results and new auction records for Modern and Contemporary African art were achieved at auction in Cape Town.
By Edward Tsumele
Both local and global sales records were broken by some artists at Aspire Art’s recent auction held in Cape Town, with new buyers bidding fiercely alongside the auction house’s existing buyers, Aspire has reported.
This impressive sales record is notable in that happened the negative impact that the world pandemic Covid-19 has wreaked in global economies as many households struggle, with some losing businesses and jobs in the process.
However If anything this recent interest in art during times of Covid-19-would suggest that many an investor sees art as an asset portfolio whose value can withstand economic vagaries.
And of course in this auction many a collector invested in mainly familiar names in art, with especially William Kentridge, Marlene Dumas, George Pemba, Mischeck Masamvu and Zanele Muholi for example performing well.
“Our first live auction for 2022 took place on Wednesday, 16 March in Cape Town. presenting a superb collection of works by leading names in 20th century and contemporary art in South Africa and the broader continent, the sale delivered exceptional results – setting the tone for the new year which will see our commitment and ambition for the African art market strengthen with further growth opportunities.
Bidders from South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and India participated in the auction, while 40% of the buyers were first-time buyers with Aspire. An impressive 21% of the works sold achieved prices above the high estimate and 60% within the estimate range. The sale set an outstanding 5 new world auction records and 7 new South African auction records,” Aspire says in its media statement following the release of the auction results.
AUCTION RECORDS
The spotlight fell on the cover lot; George Pemba’s evocative painting Nongqawuse (The girl who killed to save) from 1976, which ignited fierce and competitive bidding and sold for an impressive R910,400 – setting a new South African auction record for the artist.
Rising star Cinga Samson’s early untitled landscape of a stormy sky was a firm favourite among local and international collectors following his recent official signing with the international White Cube gallery and sold for a local record of R591,760.
Mischeck Masamvu’s expressive Bottoms Up achieved an outstanding R489,340 after a bidding frenzy. Breaking Aspire’s previous record, it set a new world auction record for the artist. A highlight was the repatriated work The Fallen Kings, by Louis Maqhubela which sold for R375,540 – tripling its pre-auction high estimate of R120,000 and topping Aspire’s previous world record for the artist.
TOP LOTS
The top lot by value was William Kentridge’s untitled Drawing for Mine from 1991, which sold for R3,186,400. As only one of 18 original drawings produced as stills for his animated film Mine, these drawings are extremely scarce and sought-after. To date, Aspire remains the top South African seller of works by William Kentridge on the secondary market.
Marlene Dumas’ poignant painting Kindvrou from 1974/5, achieved R2,048,400. This extraordinary painting is the fourth work by the world-renowned artist successfully handled by Aspire.
“ We currently hold the South African record for Dumas and remain the only auction house in South Africa dealing in the artist’s work at this level,” the company comments.
The exquisite large-scale painting A Green Girl, one of the most exceptional works by Robert Hodgins to have come to auction, sold for R1,046,960. Painted in 1998/9, the work presents Hodgins’ personal contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Ophelia.
HIGHLIGHTS
Across the auction, sculpture performed well. A beautiful bronze titled Girl with Dove by Sydney Kumalo sold for R182,080, while The Lovers by Edoardo Villa realised R159,320. Other works by these artists alongside sculptures by Bruce Arnott and David Brown achieved a combined total of R573,460.
Contemporary showstoppers included Zimbabwean artist Moffat Takadiwa’s mixed media work Mr Consumer 2 which sold for R170,700 and Sam Nhlengethwa’s large scale collage painting Inspired by the upright bass selling at R170,700. Zanele Muholi’s photograph titled Sasa Bleecker, New York, from the Somnyama Ngonyama series, achieved R136,560.
Works that performed strongly in the Modern category include a set of drawings by Sydney Kumalo which sold for a combined R97,318 – a strong indication of a strengthening market for the artist’s works on paper. “We would like to thank all our clients who entrusted us with handling their artworks and all the bidders who participated and acquired works from the auction. We look forward to an exciting year of auctions, exhibitions, private sales and advisory services to assist you in building collections of value.
Diarise our next live auction taking place in Johannesburg on 22 June 2022,’ Aspires adds.