Strauss & co - 17 February 2018, Cape Town

While painting and drawing dominated the list for top works sold at Strauss & Co’s debut contemporary art sale, photography – a medium closely associated with new forms of artistic expression – also performed well. Befitting his reputation,DavidGoldblatt secured two extraordinary results.On that very evening he was being honoured with a dinner tomark the opening of his survey exhibition at the CentreGeorges Pompidou in Paris. Goldblatt’s landscape scene The Road to Nqondwana, Transkei (2007) sold for R329 672 and Saturday Morning at the Hypermarket: Semi-final of the Miss Lovely Legs Competition, Boksburg (1980) fetched R295 568. Two generations younger than Goldblatt, twin brothers Hasan and Husain Essop’s elegant 2011 architectural photograph of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem sold for R62 524. Guy Tillim’s diptych from his Leopold and Mobutu series depicting the remains of Mobutu Sese Seko’s palace at Gbadolite achieved R170 520, also exceeding the high estimate. Strauss & Co’s contemporary art sale was introduced with a view to focussing collector interest on the diverse and exciting art currently being made in South Africa, and also the wider African continent. The sale included a selection of work by artists from Kenya and Zimbabwe. Nairobi-based Cyrus Kabiru is best known for his handmade sculptural eyepieces,an example of whichwas offered with a photographic portrait and sold for R204 624. The company will continue to develop its African art offering in future sales. Strauss & Co strongly believes in contributing to professional practice in the art sector and and has earmarked 20% of the net proceeds from the inaugural contemporary sale for a new bursary fund. The Strauss & Co Bursary Fund will provide bursaries for post-graduate art and art history study at major South African universities. Are you a collector of contemporary South African art? Are you thinking of selling a key piece in your collection? Strauss & Co is consigning work for its next contemporary art sale in February 2019,which will once again coincide with the Investec Cape Town Art Fair. Enquiries 021 683 6560 | 011 728 8246 Front Cover Jake Aikman, Adrift II Sold R250 096 David Goldblatt, The Road to Nqondwana, Transkei Sold R329 672 Cyrus Kabiru, Kwa Kubadilishana Utamaduni, Macho Nne: At the Dot Sold R204 624