QUART ERLY - P.I. 31/07 /2019 Intern Spedizione in Abbon ationa l € 10, Chf amento Postale 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 - 70% - LO/MI Poste Italiane S.p.a.
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CORAL ISSUE - n° 19 - 2019 - € 10
The Art of Sailing
[ ART ON BOARD ]
ETHNIC TRENDS Contemporary African art is a growing market, driven by creative freshness. Not to miss, the works on show at the Venice Biennale, the Jungle Fever exhibition at St. Regis
Courtesy of Barnard, Cape Town, South Africa
in Rome and the Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House in London
Founded by Touria El Glaoui, the 1-54 Contemporary Art Fairs in New York, London and Marrakech are the go-to events for contemporary African art. Here above, Richard Mudariki, Reading the Fake News Times, 2019. The work was exhibited at 1-54, New York, May 2019)
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Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Continua, San Gimignano/Beijing/Les Moulins/Habana, @ Ela Bialkowska
Below, Armand Boua, Le Viep, 2018, 1-54 Marrakech 2019. To side, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Colonne colonial, 2015, glass sculpture by Berengo Studio Murano, Italy. Column of enamelled pots about 3 metres high. Jungle Fever, The St.Regis Rome. Bottom, Fabrice Monteiro, Mr. banania, 2017. Canson Infinity
Courtesy the artist and Galerie Cecile Fakhoury
Platine Fibre. Edition of 5 examples. 1-54 New York 2019
by Micaela Zucconi
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Armitage and Zanele Muholi stand out among
a trip round fairs, galleries and even hotels will soon reveal the truth. Contemporary African
the seventy-nine international artists chosen by
art, currently enjoying great popularity, includes artists from a number of countries and more
curator Ralph Rugoff. The Cameroonian artist
recently, from artists of the African diaspora. The story begins with Les Rencontres de Bamako,
Pascale Marthine Tayou is featured in the Jungle
in Mali, dedicated above all to photography (founded in 1994) and the Lagos Photo Festival
Fever exhibition at the St. Regis Hotel in Rome,
in Nigeria (from 2014). Launched in 2015, Art X Lagos, West Africa’s first international art fair, was inspired by Nigerian entrepreneur Tokini Peterside. However, the most unmissable event is now the 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair, first held in 2013 and developing into editions in London, New York and Marrakesh. The founder and director is Touria El Glaoui, who was
Courtesy MAGNIN-A
f what comes to mind at the mention of African art is masks, tribal cultures and nothing else,
convinced that African art has for too long been undervalued and the victim of prejudice. The name refers to the fifty-four countries in the African continent. Marrakech is also the home of Macaal, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), opened in 2018, an African art incubator and promoter of African art, with over two thousand pieces. The museum is the work of the Lazraq family through its Fondation Alliances. And since 2017 the Zeitz Mocaa, Museum of Contemporary African Art, in Cape Town, the largest of its kind in the world thanks to the Zeitz Collection, founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz. African art has also been fashionable for several years at Frieze and Art Basel, the most authoritative contemporary art fairs, and is in the spotlight at the 58th Venice Biennale, on until next November. One of the highlights of the art on display is the series of installations by activist and artist El Anatsui for the Ghana pavilion and JoĂŤl Andrianomearisoa for Madagascar. Michael
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[ ART ON BOARD ]
©Italo Rondinella (detail)
Courtesy Addis Fine Art
©Micaela Zucconi
Left, Nirit Takele, Exposed Identity, 2018. Acrylic on canvas. 1-54 New York 2019. Right, Michael Armitage, Mkokoteni, 2019. Oil on Lubugo bark cloth. Venezia Biennale 2019 Below, Zanele Muholi, Faniswa, Seapoint, Cape Town, 2016. Venice Biennale 2019
in collaboration with Galleria Continua, one of the most prestigious contemporary art galleries (until 13 October). The auction houses provide an indication of market preferences, and one of the first to catch on to the trend was PIASA in Parigi. Since 2014 the company has been holding sales of African art with works by famous and emerging artists. Last May an auction of paintings, photographs, drawings and sculptures raised 1.3 million euro. Sotheby’s opened a dedicated department 2017, achieving over sixty record sales. The next auction is on 15 October 2019 in London. It’s a promising sector that brings in buyers attracted by its fresh creativity. Thirty years ago one of the first clients to drawn in was businessman Jean Pigozzi, an important collectors in this field. In 2017, part of his huge collection of over 10,000 pieces was displayed at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. His passion was inspired by a chance visit to an exhibition and his association with André Magnin, one of the top experts in the sector, who founded the Magnin-A gallery in 2009. Set free to search the African continent, it was Magnin who uncovered and bought the most interesting works by unknown living artists in sub-Saharan Africa, then launched them onto the European and world markets. The next showcase is 1-54’s upcoming London show at Somerset House, from 3 to 6 October.
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