Perspectives on Africa
Live Virtual Auction, 17 February 2025
Perspectives on Africa
About the SessionStrauss & Co is pleased to present Perspectives on Africa, a sale that explores the complexity, beauty, and fluidity of perspectives through African art and works by artists with strong ties to the continent. The sale coalesces the rich and varied connections between Africa and its artistic expressions, presenting works that span figuration, landscape, and abstraction, inviting collectors to engage with powerful narratives emerging from Africa's evolving perspectives. The works reflect layered meanings, both as a method of representing depth and dimension as a way of framing our understanding of the world. Work by Contemporary artists reflects on the historical foundations of Modernist artists, exploring themes such as identity, belonging, urbanisation, and re-encounters with tradition, while the sale transitions to Modernist interpretations of Africa, exploring the complexity of colonial encounters, post-independence aspirations, and indigenous practices. Building on Strauss & Co’s commitment to developing a strong local photography market, the sale includes an artist focus on the work of social documentarian Paul Alberts, whose images captured poignant narratives of everyday life, particularly in Cape Town. These works sit alongside David Goldblatt and Zanele Muholi, whose visceral images explore themes of identity, social justice and the multifaceted realities of African life.
About this Item
signed and inscribed with the title on the reverse
Provenance
The Linda Givon Collection.
Notes
The present lot highlights the raw, fleshy textures that emerge from Siopis’ distinctive use of glue, ink, and oil. The artist works with the medium, not against it, and allows it to congeal into a form of its own, only coming to rest once it dries and hardens.
The composition of the work is intimate, almost uncomfortably so, challenging the viewer to maintain their gaze. Painted in her signature palette of red and pink, the piece conveys themes of passion and trauma through its depiction of intimate touch, while the text, Thinking of You on This Special Day, adds an emotional layer to the work.