September ART: artists living and working across Africa and the diaspora

18 Sep 2026

Strauss & Co’s September ART sale (28 August – 21 September 2026) presents an exciting range of accessible works by important Modern and Contemporary South African Artists alongside a compelling selection from artists living and working across Africa and the diaspora. The timed online auction forms part of an eventful month for the auction house, which has its Flagship Cape Town Sales on the 15th of September (the Day Sale closes at 2pm and the Live Evening Sale will start at 7pm).

There is an impressive celebration of the rich legacy of South African printmaking in the ‘Art Club’ section of September ART. The selection features editioned works by the likes of Cecil Skotnes (lots 615 – 619, 642 and 706), Walter Battiss (lots 633, 644 – 647, 836, and 968), David Koloane (lot 669), Norman Catherine (lots 653 – 657) and William Kentridge (lots 629 and 681).

The cover lot for the sale, Up River: Enter the Hated Domain (lot 606), is one of five digital prints by Zander Blom from his satirical series The Travels of Bad. Drawing on the aesthetics of rock and heavy metal album covers, the photographic series explores how exoticised cultures influenced European avant-garde art movements from the 19th century onwards.

Highlights of this month’s ‘Art Club’ picks also include the digital print by American artist Hank Willis Thomas, Come Out of the Bone Age Darling…1955/2015 (lot 602, estimates R180 000 – 220 000 / US$11 175 – 13 658). The image points to a moment of innovation in women’s shapewear and the accompanying beauty expectations communicated through advertising at the time. On a deeper level, it also interrogates the politics behind how mass media constructs and represents white femininity.

The rest of the September ART auction is organised by medium, including Paintings, Works on Paper, Photography, Textiles and Ceramics and Sculpture and Books.  Within this offering, another highlight of the sale is the inclusion of trailblazing international artists such as Sonya Clark (lots 888 and 913), Ifeoma U. Anyaeji (lot 899), and Angela Su (lot 911). “These works illuminate how hair shapes identity, memory, and meaning across cultures, nations, and histories through diverse artistic vocabularies,” explains Head of Sale, Kirstie Pietersen.

Additional contemporary standouts in the sale are by Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai Chiurai (lots 604 and 659) and Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy (lots 905, 906, 723 and 727), anchoring Strauss & Co’s commitment to offering works by leading contemporary artists from across the African continent