Strauss & co - Review 2018

Recognising Green Shoots for 2019 The packed auction room at the Zeitz MOCAA Benefit Auction was indicative of the widespread interest and support for contemporary art. This new museum at the V&A Waterfront forms part of a constellation of important public museums in Cape Town. They include the bellwether Iziko South African National Gallery and Irma Stern Museum, as well as the recently opened A4 Arts Foundation and Norval Foundation. Together with the city’s bustling art dealerships – like Blank Projects, Everard Read, Goodman Gallery, SMAC, Stevenson and Whatiftheworld Gallery – these public institutions form the bedrock of Cape Town’s ambitions of “becoming a much sought- after international art destination,” to quote Frank Kilbourn. The Investec Cape Town Art Fair is another important piece in the jigsaw. Held in February, the energy around this contemporary art fair and busy social event prompted Strauss & Co to host its inaugural contemporary sale at the same time. The hubbub of a working harbour was a fitting backdrop for this new sale of mostly living artists. Robert Hodgins, Drunk in the Docks Sold R1 250 480, 17 February 2018 The inaugural sale in February affirmed the reputation at auction of senior artists like Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge, Karel Nel and Penny Siopis. But, and importantly in the context of this new sale, it also uncovered collector appetite for works by a younger generation of artists, notably painters like Lisa Brice, Georgina Gratrix and Jake Aikman. Aikman’s Adrift II (2014), a mesmerising marine painting, had seven telephone bidders interested but was eventually secured by an absentee bidder for R250 096, trebling the high estimate. It established a new world record for this Cape painter trained at the Michaelis School of Fine Art. “One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day,” cautioned Aristotle. Two swallows are, however, suggestive of spring. Following on Aikman’s impressive February result, Strauss & Co sold Beneath , an enigmatic seascape in shades of grey and green, for R341 400 at its June sale in Johannesburg. William Kentridge, Drawing for 'Felix in Exile' Sold R2 273 600, 17 February 2018 35