Stephan Welz&Co. shifts gears to include emerging contemporary artists in their auction sales

This move should boost the currency of young visual voices on the secondary market in South Africa.

By Edward Tsumele
Auction house Stephan Welz&Co. is now shifting gears to include young emerging contemporary artists in their auction sales, in addition to their traditional market, that has been focusing mainly on established artists.

This inclusion of young contemporary artists, the company says, is in realisation of  emergence of young visual voices that tackle the contemporary world we live in, with especially contemporary art from Africans gaining recognition from global collectors.

For years now, collectors have been looking to Africa  to add to their collection of contemporary art, instead of only focusing on their West and in recent years Asia for collecting art.

The shifting of gears by Stephan Welz&Co. to include young contemporary artists should be therefore seen in the context of an increasing interest in collecting contemporary art fr4om Africa by collectors. This will definitely boost the currency of contemporary artists in South Africa in the secondary market. Already other players in the market, such as Strauss &Co. and Aspire Art, have long included young contemporary visual artists in their auction sales sessions, and some of them, such as Nelson Makamo, Turiya Magadlela, Blessing Ngobeni, and Mary Sibande to name but just a few have a strong presence on the fine art auction floors, appearing frequently on the contemporary sections of the auction sales, fetching decent prices with their works.

“Stephan Welz & Co. proudly offers works by many blue-chip artists and is now also creating a space and market for fresh upcoming local talent. A number of emerging artists have advanced considerably in popularity in recent years, with many art professionals agreeing that their role in the market has evolved and increased significantly. By providing a platform for emerging artists to showcase their works, and an opportunity for collectors to invest in artists breaking into the contemporary art world, we are not only supporting the artists’ careers but also are also investing in the future of South African art.

The auction comes to an end on Thursday the 14th of April, with a staggered hammer format starting at 8pm, with each lot thereafter ending 30 seconds after the last.

For more information or any assistance, please contact us on +27118803125 or email support@swelco.co.za and the relevant department specialist will be happy to assist,” Stephan Welz said in a statement this week.