Strauss & co - 2017 Mid-year Review

Strauss & Co’s longstanding commitment to contemporary art saw the company lend its support to South Africa’s participation at this year’s 57th Venice Biennale (13 May – 26 November). The South African Pavilion is currently showcasing the work of two artists, Candice Breitz and Mohau Modisakeng. Strauss & Co is a member of the Friends of the South African Pavilion, a network of contributing patrons whose efforts ensure the successful promotion of the national pavilion at this premier international showcase. As part of its involvement, Strauss & Co co-hosted a party organised by the Friends of the South African Pavilion at the Palazzo Pisani Moretta. Frank Kilbourn explained the company’s strategic motivations for getting involved: “Strauss & Co is constantly examining ways to deepen its involvement in South African art and to extend the scope of its auctions to include more pan-African works of art. As global market leader in the secondary market for South African art, we have a responsibility to support the development and visibility of our artists. Our involvement with the South African Pavilion forms part of a year- round programme of events to promote the remarkable talents of our artists, past and present.” This was the first time that Strauss & Co has been involved in supporting the South African Pavilion, however, its backing is consistent with the company’s role in promoting and growing the audience for work by leading South African artists. Many of the names associated with Strauss & Co sales, including moderns like Battiss, Preller, Stern, Maud Sumner and Maurice van Essche, were involved in the earliest iterations of South Africa’s national participation at Venice. Stern, for instance, exhibited at the Venice Biennale throughout the 1950s. In 1966, Sydney Kumalo, then one of the country’s best-known sculptors, represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale. Kumalo figured prominently at Strauss & Co’s June sale in Johannesburg. His undated bronze, Figure on Bull, sold for an impressive R909 440 (high estimate R400 000), and a low-slung abstract study of a lounging woman, Reclining Mapogga , fetched R454 720. Supporting the development and visibility of our artists 20