Rom Isichei’s 2011 piece titled Rejuvenation, an oil on board that sold for NGN 1,322,500 ($6,613).
FUNKE OSAE-BROWN
Arthouse Contemporary, West Africa’s premiere auction house made a total of N31,050,000 ($155,250) at its inaugural edition of The Affordable Art Auction which held on February 27, 2016 at the Kia Showroom, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
With a total of 116 lots from leading modern and contemporary artists, 72% of the lots were sold at the evening auction. The top sales at the auction were: Rom Isichei’s 2011 piece titled Rejuvenation, an oil on board that sold for NGN 1,322,500 ($6,613); this was followed by Ben Osawe’s Mask (1985), a gouache on paper that sold for NGN 920,000 ($4,600); and Kolade Oshinowo’s The Family (2009), an oil on board that sold for NGN 782,000 ($3,910).
The Affordable Art Auction also included three charity lots in support of the Society of Nigerian Artists, which raised NGN 506,000 ($2,530) with all proceeds going directly to their fundraising campaign to expand their operations.
Kolade Oshinowo’s The Family (2009), an oil on board that sold for NGN 782,000 ($3,910).
“There has been an explosion of interest in contemporary African art in recent years,” said Kavita Chellarams, CEO, Arthouse Contemporary Limited, in a statement before the auction began, “and there is a tremendous potential for investment. With the African art market at an unprecedented rise, The Affordable Art Auction aims to engage emerging markets and the rise of a new collector base. Arthouse Contemporary particularly aims to focus on the network of local collectors to create a more sustainable and self-sufficient market.”
The Affordable Art Auction is the third auction series to accompany Arthouse Contemporary’s bi-annual auctions of Modern and Contemporary Art in May and November. Each work of art in the Affordable Art Auction was priced at an estimate below NGN 500,000, casting a wider net to showcase a broader scope of contemporary artists.
Arthouse Contemporary showed many artists in the auction for the first time, and it also included works of art by leading modern masters and Africa’s most prominent artists —- all scaled to a more affordable and accessible price point.
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