Art auctions uncontrived in their wide multiplicity
In 2010 Simon Njami, the curator born in Cameroon and based in France, and Africa’s most celebrated architect, David Adjaye, staged an ambitious initiative. In Art at Work, they conceived of an adaptive travelling exhibition across eight cities on the continent. Adjaye took care of the pop-up gallery and Njami engaged local artists in each city to generate the art. The art was probably not the most cutting-edge, and it was mostly photography. But the expression was particular to — and different in — each city, extending the pluralistic view of African art Njami has been promoting throughout his career. It should be a given that African art has no obvious identifiable features. Yet art professionals on the continent are constantly trying to make this point. This is what makes art auctions such interesting platforms on which to consider art. An uncontrived multiplicity of expression occurs naturally in the secondary art market. The artworks are curated, selected through a filtering pr...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.