The first original Banksy artwork to go on auction in Africa was sold this week (27 & 28 October 2014) at the Stephan Welz & Co. Fine Art and Collectables Auction in Cape Town.

Titled “Flying Copper”, the highly collectable serigraph is numbered 123/150 and signed by the artist. Estimated to sell for between R200 000 and R300 000, it sold for R200 000.

“Madonna”, from the ICON series by acclaimed Los Angeles-based street artist, Mr Brainwash was also up for auction. Signed and dated by the artist, the work was estimated to sell for between R250 000 and R350 000. It sold for R260 000.

Visit stephanwelzandco.co.za to find out more about the results from this exciting auction.

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Today, 18 July is Mandela Day, a day we unite with the world to remember the 67 years our former president sacrificed in the fight for freedom. It is his wish that we celebrate his birthday by taking 67 minutes of our own time to give back to the community in an effort to help continue his life’s work. Forming part of this special day is the launch in Johannesburg of an art exhibition in Madiba’s honour.

Titled We Love Mandela: Art Inspired by Madiba, the exhibition is showing at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton City.

Sculptures, beadwork and photographs, as well as prints and paintings, by artists including Wayne Barker, Richard Chauke, David Koloane, Jürgen Schadeburg, Kagisa Pat Mautloa, Billy and Jane Makhubele, Johannes Maswanganyi, Collen Maswanganyi, Rankadi Daniel Mosako, Velaphi Mzimba, Joachim Schönfeldt, Eric Sher, Alfred Thoba, Susan Woolf, Lena Woolf and Zapiro.

According to the curator of the exhibition, Natalie Knight, many of these artists were only able to practice their craft after Mandela was released in 1990. Others found an outlet through resistance art to protest the country’s oppressive rule.

Curating exhibitions in honour of South Africa’s well-loved icon is nothing new to Natalie, former owner of Natalie Knight Gallery. This is the third show of its kind she heads. The other two were Mandela@90, she curated for the South African Constitutional Court, and the Mandela@94-z-a exhibition, which took place at Wits’ Origins Gallery.

In October, after its run in Johannesburg, the exhibitionwill be showm in London. This is in anticipation of South Africa’s 20 years of democracy and in remembrance of England’s various protest actions as well as the advocating for the abolishment of Apartheid by British leaders before 1990. After it closes in London, the exhibition will travel to other world capitals.

See the exhibition at the Stephan Welz & Co Sandton gallery (Shop L39) and at the Peacemakers museum (Shop L32) until Monday 26 August 2013. Entry to this momentous exhibition is free and the artworks are not for sale.

More info: www.stephanwelzandco.co.za

Also opening today is the exhibition of posters honouring Mandela’s 95th birthday. See some of them here.

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If there are more popular words than “vintage” or “mid-century” on Pinterest, then we want to hear them! Of course, we wholly endorse giving timeworn items a second chance at life. Not all old is gold, though, so we asked the experts for their advice.

Jeremy Astfalck

The Old Corkscrew, theoldcorkscrew.co.za

How did you get into antiques and vintage?

While doing my BA degree at Wits in Johannesburg, unlike most of the other students who got work in the local restaurants as waiters and waitresses, I discovered the newly opened Johannesburg flea market. I soon became a seller as well as a buyer.

What should people look for when they buy antique and vintage items?

Quality, strength of design and that uniqueness that will ensure that the item remains as iconic in the future as it was when first produced.

Are there some antique and vintage items and styles that are more in vogue than others?

Currently anything from the Far East made more than 50 years ago. The Chinese market in particular is booming as they are buying back everything that is in the Chinese taste.

What is your favourite place for picking up a bargain?

Many of the country’s flea markets and charity events are great sources – from the Milnerton Market through to the annual SA Riding for the Disabled Association antique fair held at the Alphen Centre in Constantia in August.

What is your favourite place to blow the budget?

The South African Antique Dealers Association (SAADA) yearly flagship events. 

Charles Kerr

Con Amore, conamorehome.com

How did you get into antiques and vintage?

I grew up in a home with beautiful pieces and my parents were keen collectors. While at university I discovered that I could turn my knowledge of antiques into profit by buying items on auction and selling them at the flea market on the weekends. It wasn’t great for my studies, but it was the beginning of a career for me.

What should people look for when they buy antique and vintage items?

Always buy the best that you can afford, and try to avoid damaged items unless you know a good restorer. Buy with your heart and not with your head – if you love the piece you will always have space in your home for it. Markets change often, and pieces that are bought for investment only can sometimes end up being white elephants with no good place to go.

Are there some antique and vintage items and styles that are more in vogue than others?

Currently there is a big move towards mid-century modern, and “brown” Victorian furniture has fallen in value like a grandfather clock down a mine-shaft! The markets are fickle, though, and I do believe that Victorian furniture will see its day again – simply because they used the finest materials (exotic woods that cost an arm and a leg today) and the furniture was well manufactured by skilled craftsmen.

What is your favourite place for picking up a bargain?

Without a doubt, London’s famous Portobello Market – but get there with the fruit sellers (around 6am) and make sure that you’re gone by the time the busloads of tourists start to arrive. The infamous Chor Bazaar (thieves’ market) in Bombay is also fantastic for the quirky and the curious items on offer – but in recent years it has also become a bit of a tourist trap.

What is your favourite place to blow the budget?

The London Silver Vaults in Chancery Lane. Three floors underground, it is the world’s largest collection of silver items for sale in one place. Prices start below £100 but there are many items on display for over £100 000!

Anton Welz

Director and furniture specialist at Stephan Welz & Co, www.swelco.co.za 

How did you get into antiques and vintage? 

I come from a long line of collectors and my grandfather, Jean Welz, was one of South Africa’s 20th-century master painters. So I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by art and wonderful antique and vintage pieces. I worked in my first auction while still at high school and then studied History of Art so that I could turn my passion into a successful career, surrounded by antiques and vintage pieces.

What should people look for when they buy antique and vintage items?

Condition, condition, condition – this is absolutely paramount. One should not overpay for a sub-quality piece. Any damage, restoration or repair work can reduce the value of a piece by up to 70% depending on the extent of the damage, no matter how old the piece. Some restoration can be very difficult to spot so always ask for a condition report before making a decision.

Are there some antique and vintage items and styles that are more in vogue than others?

Very much so, there has been a drop off in the prices of Victorian furniture and what we term “brown” furniture in the past three years, concurrent with what has been experienced in the English market. We have seen an increase in prices of mid-century modern furniture, particularly 20th century contemporary design. Art deco prices have dropped off, however, good design attributable to a particular designer (Etore Sottsass, Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier, Phillippe Starck and a host of Danish designers – Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl) are becoming increasingly collectable. Perhaps partially due to the practicality of the pieces and the fact that it is currently a hot trend to own a mid-century modern classic.

What is your favourite place for picking up a bargain?

Auctions are always top of my mind. Traditionally perceived as stuffy affairs for the wealthy only, auctions are changing with the times, becoming less formal and offering greater ranges of beautiful items to purchase, whether for investment or just for love. There is also something very appealing, in our increasingly green-conscious environment, about purchasing an item that is not brand spanking new, and whose value has increased (and will further increase) over time. And, we’re not just talking about fine art – jewellery, silver, furniture and even cars make it to today’s auctions and are there for the taking at significantly lower prices than if purchased new, or from dealers.

What is your favourite place to blow the budget?

A fine and decorative arts auction.

Astrid van der Heim

Van der Heim Interiors International, vdhinteriorsintcc@vodamail.co.za

How did you get into antiques and vintage?

My mother was an avid collector of fine bone china tea sets and figurines. In the late-1960s and 1970s I was drawn to the so-called junk shops; having to furnish my own home I found the quality and nostalgia of a bygone era a feast. This was when plastic and plywood furniture was all the rage and it did not have the visual depth for me, as well as being way beyond my then budget.

What should people look for when they buy antique and vintage items?

Condition, design and beauty have been more important for me than the financial investment. Most of what I have collected has always improved in value as the trends for manufacture have changed. I always know what I am looking for – it is not about price or value for me but about the mix of the various areas that makes the statement.

Are there some antique and vintage items and styles that are more in vogue than others?

Yes, but the best rule to decorate your home is by selecting what appeals to your design sense. That said, the Art Deco period has in my opinion held its own in the past 20 years of having been a collector of this era.

What is your favourite place for picking up a bargain?

I have found great decor items at Redecorate, recently moved to Parkhurst, Johannesburg. To revamp pieces for low-budget makeovers: Hospice and Tock H Parkview both in Johannesburg.

What is your favourite place to blow the budget?

New York at the tag (garage sales) and auctions. London flea markets for small pieces that I collect for personal pleasure. Hong Kong for the little Chinese pieces that have meaning and the patina of mostly unrestored scars showing their survival through previous lives. The Art Deco shop at Horizon Plaza has breathtaking pieces. In South Africa: The Ossewa, Melville; Vintage Cowboys; JAB Antiques, Melville; and Yesteryear, Westdene, which is one of my favorite shops as it has an Aladdin’s cave atmosphere with cabinets full of stuff that I love to browse through.

Mark Valentine

Amatuli Artefacts, www.amatuli.co.za

How did you get into antiques and vintage?

Not a conventional one. I was a runner in the villages of Botswana and Zimbabwe, pulling out old brass beds and boer trunks. This was just a hobby in the beginning and grew from there.

What should people look for when they buy antique and vintage items?

Generally there are no rules. Great patina, good form, an honest provenance and your heart should beat slightly faster when you see it for the first time.

Are there some antique and vintage items and styles that are more in vogue than others?

Some styles are timeless, i.e. country furniture seems to hold its appeal more that classics. Simple, with great lines seem to be the rule of thumb in my business.

What is your favourite place for picking up a bargain?

The deep south of Johannesburg, hidden reclamation yards and, recently, some old French colonial furniture in the Cameroon.

What is your favourite place to blow the budget?

Definitely Ethiopia, in the footsteps of the Queen of Sheba and the Menelik Dynasty. The mountain fortresses and towns of Lalibella and Axum house some great treasures, ancient Ethiopian cedar furniture and extraordinary tribal objects from the Omo Valley.

The post Meet the collectors appeared first on Visi.

The influential Italian-based Memphis Design Movement, whose colourful stacked geometric shapes were the epitome of unconventional 1980s design, is experiencing an international revival, according to trend forecaster Li Edelkoort. Here on South African soil, collectors have the opportunity to purchase one of the Memphis Group’s most iconic pieces – an original Carlton Room Divider – at the upcoming Stephan Welz & Co Decor and Fine Arts Auction in Cape Town on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 February.

Also known as the Carlton Cabinet or Bookcase, the Carlton Room Divider is valued at between R160 000 and R180 000, and is “a serious piece of Memphis design, epitomising all that the group stood for,” according to Anton Welz, Stephan Welz & Co managing director and furniture specialist. 

The Memphis movement was started in Italy in 1981 by Etore Sottsass with its focus on post-modern furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glass and metal objects, and comprised designers from a number of countries. The approach was kitsch and almost “anti design”.  It was a protest against the plain and humourless design of the 1970s and used cheap materials such as plastic laminates in bold and bright colours. The name Memphis was inspired by the Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, which was played repeatedly during the evening when the group first met. The group was dismantled by Sottsass in 1988; however, the items designed as a protest against dull design have become classics in their own right, and are now highly collectable.

“Sales of Memphis originals have been strong in the past year, and we are always thrilled when these fun and quirky pieces, which are rapidly increasing in value, come our way, mostly from collectors who have lived overseas,” says Anton. 

Worldwide, Memphis is influencing designers, from fashion to textiles to home decor and furnishings. The geometric black, white and candy tones of Memphis are the natural stuff of inspiration for South African designers, according to trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, who is curating an exhibition on Memphis-inspired local designs at this year’s Design Indaba Expo (1 to 3 March), in Cape Town. In a piece published in the current “DIY Deluxe” edition of VISI magazine, Li talks about the liberation of South African design and its kinship with Memphis, with similarities between our township colours and the Italian 1980s colour palette, as well as “the stacking and layering of colour and materials, which delivers a totemic quality”. 

“One of the most iconic design objects ever is the Carlton Cabinet by Sottsass,” wrote Li. “It looks and acts like a totem with a strange African vibe, stretching out its arms to the world… The idea of stacking, storing, building and constructing new African totems is emerging; the world is looking to Africa to be inspired.” 

Other design highlights to be auctioned include rare books on South African architecture, as well as a distinguished collection of international street art by the likes of Faith47, Mr Brainwash and Shephard Fairey. 

The Stephan Welz & Co Decorative and Fine Arts Auction will take place Tuesday 19 February and Wednesday 20 February at The Great Cellar, Alphen Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia.

Pre-auction viewing open to the public at no charge, on 15 February from 10am to 3pm, and 16 to 17 February, 10am to 5pm.

For more information: 021 794 6461, ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za, www.swelco.co.za

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An original Red Blue Chair by iconic De Stijl architect Gerrit Rietveld is one of the headline items at the Decorative and Fine Arts Auction at Stephen Welz & Co in Cape Town on 2 and 3 October. There’s more to this chair than its funkiness.

“At the moment, buyers are going crazy for iconic 20th century furniture pieces, which, besides fitting into any retro-style living space, are now seen as collector’s items,” said Anton Welz, director and furniture specialist. The chair, estimated to go for between R20 000 and R25 000, will feature alongside other iconic 20th century items, including a Charles and Ray Eames lounger, chair and ottoman, as well as numerous Scandinavian and Italian pieces.

 The simple modernist design of the Red Blue Chair is a timeless icon from the De Stijl movement, founded in the year 1917 by Dutch designer, writer and critic, Theo van Rensburg. It is often forgotten that this was not just a design-orientated movement but rather one that tried to reinvent our way of life. Highly influenced by a period defined by social instability due to the effects of World War I and influenced by the Cubist art coming out of the rest of Europe, De Stijl sought to define a utopian lifestyle that encouraged manmade solidity and rationality… And we thought it was just a funky looking chair!

The chair was initially designed in a palette of black, white and grey, but was soon changed after the designer met painter Piet Mondrian. It could be said that the design is a three-dimensional realisation of a Mondrian painting. To date this design continues to inspire designers, young and old – have look at French designer Julien Berthier’s left-handed interpretation, Mario Minale’s Lego remake and Maarten Baas’s charred version.

If you’re still asking what all the fuss is about, have a seat in the Red Blue Chair and the unanticipated comfort component will be the lure. As Rietveld once said: “We must remember, to sit is a verb too.”

The auction will also include an original painted cabinet by Andy Warhol. British sculptor Rachel Whiteread’s Switch, a sculptural representation of a light switch will also go under the gavel.

For more information, contact 021 794 6461 or e-mail ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za. The catalogue can be viewed at www.stephanwelzandco.co.za

 

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