Aspire Art Auctions Cape Town: The Impressive Results

Aspire Art Auctions’ selection of critically engaged, top quality fine art was met with enthusiasm at its inaugural Cape Town sale on 27 March 2017 at The Avenue, V&A Waterfront.

Bidders from several continents vied for the best of South Africa modernist and contemporary art, breaking international records.

Strong results were achieved for the work of blue-chip artists, such as JH Pierneef’s A View Across Fisherman’s Cove, Seychelles, which fetched R4 547 200 and his Vrystaat Reën at R2 046 240; Edoardo Villa’s Vertical Composition at R1 818 880; and two of William Kentridge’s early drawings,Grande Jeté at R2 273 600 and Room Service at R2 046 240. 

In long-awaited and well-received recognition of exiled South African artists, too frequently under-rated and under-represented, politically motivated works like Louis Maqhubela’s early conté crayon drawings of the mid-1960s, Exiled King, sold for R341 040 – more than three times his previous record. As a young student in Soweto, Maqhubela joined Durant Sihlali’s artist group and enrolled in classes at the Polly Street Art Centre. However, in 1959, the year he matriculated, the apartheid government disallowed black students from “white” universities. Having enjoyed critical and commercial success despite the challenges of the time, Maqhubela eventually settled in the UK, primarily for political reasons, furthering his studies at Goldsmiths College in 1984–5, and the Slade School of Art between 1985 and 1988.

Albert Adams’s Untitled (Four Figures with Pitchforks), his first appearance at auction, sold for R136 416 at three times the low estimate. This important work features in the upcoming exhibition to honour the artist at the Rupert Museum, curated by Marilyn Martin, the former Director of the Iziko South African National Gallery. Martin notes that the drawing “ …reveals the instinctive expressionism, charged with deep social awareness and commitment, which would characterise his work throughout his life”. Denied access to Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, on the basis of race, Adams received scholarships and grants that enabled him to study at top universities in London, Munich and Salzburg. He returned to Cape Town where he exhibited widely and to critical acclaim, and represented South Africa internationally, but in 1960 he settled in London.

Emma Bedford, current Director and Senior Specialist at Aspire Art Auctions and for many years Senior Curator at the South African National Gallery, met both Maqhubela and Adams in London in the 1990s, amongst several other artists in exile, with a view to curating an exhibition on the subject. So it was particularly heartwarming to receive Maqhubela’s response to the sale and the news that he would benefit from Aspire’s initiation of Artist’s Resale Rights: “your e-mail was like a whisper from the ‘Old Ones’ – a grand affirmation of ethical market practice, goodwill and generosity that really made my day”.

As the first auction house in South African history to pay living, South African artists royalties on the resale of their works of art, an impressive 40 living artists in the Inaugural Cape Auction are eligible for payments – a substantial increase from the 16 living artists who benefitted from Aspire’s Inaugural Auction, held in Johannesburg in October 2016.

Young contemporary artists set to receive Artist’s Resale Rights payments include Mohau Modisakeng, who will represent South Africa at the Venice Biennale 2017; Modisakeng’s Ditaola XV achieved a record of R204 624. Another major contemporary artist, Moshekwa Langa, doubled his previous record when his mixed media composition, she thought of him often, sold for R102 312.

Athi-Patra Ruga, who became the toast of New York when he staged Over the Rainbow at Performa in 2016 and who stole the show at the recent Woordfees in Stellenbosch, didn’t disappoint when his tapestry, Castrato as [the] Revolution sold for a sensational R261 464.

For further queries, or for gratis and obligation-free valuations, please contact Ruarc Peffers at ruarc@aspireart.net or on 084 444 8004. Aspire Art’s upcoming Winter Auction will be held on 17 July 2017 at The Park on 7, Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg. Consignments close on 19 May 2017. For more information, visit aspireart.net.