Artists

From Albert Adams to Portia Zvavahera, Strauss & Co maintains a detailed database of every artist sold at auction since 2009. Whether it is painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, ceramics or new media, this searchable database lists by artist every lot offered and provides aggregated data useful to collectors. Famous South African artists like William Kentridge, JH Pierneef, Alexis Preller and Irma Stern are introduced with helpful biographies along with the best contemporary artists.



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Nelson Makamo

South African 1982- 


Nelson Makamo is a celebrated contemporary South African artist, best known for his vibrant portraits of children. He was born in 1982 in Limpopo Province and is currently based in Johannesburg. Makamo received his formal training at the Artist Proof Studio where he studied printmaking between 2003 and 2006. Since graduating, Makamo has experimented with numerous artistic mediums including charcoal, oil, and watercolour whilst developing his own unique and distinctly recognisable mark-making style. Makamo observes the youth in the city around him, creating compelling mixed media portraits of everyday people in an urbanised landscape that reflect the energy of the city and the cross-cultural influences he experiences. His portraits of children display a strength of emotion and hope whilst celebrating the joy of childhood. In a feature in TIME magazine, his work was described as ‘the Art of Optimism’.

Makamo was the recipient of the Johnson & Johnson International bursary and was awarded the Rise Art Award for Drawing in 2018. He has exhibited extensively in South Africa, including the Ten Years of Printmaking exhibition at the David Krut Print Studio in 2006, in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. His work is featured in several public and many prestigious private collections worldwide.


177 lots offered      87.57% sold      ZAR 8 857 028
 

  Including Premium and VAT Results include Buyer's Premium and VAT
Nelson Makamo; Study of a Child
3 Oct 2022
Sold for ZAR 4 690
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Figure with Clenched Fist
3 Oct 2022
Sold for ZAR 29 313
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Figure Study
3 Oct 2022
Sold for ZAR 5 277
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Portrait of a Boy
25 Jul 2022
Sold for ZAR 126 500
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Man
25 Jul 2022
Sold for ZAR 12 898
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Pupil
25 Jul 2022
Sold for ZAR 25 300
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Two Figures
25 Jul 2022
Sold for ZAR 5 863
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Face
25 Jul 2022
Sold for ZAR 8 208
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Head in Profile
16 May 2022
Sold for ZAR 250 360
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Head of a Child
5 Apr 2022
Sold for ZAR 398 300
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Faces, six
14 Mar 2022
Sold for ZAR 17 588
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
Nelson Makamo; Head of a Man
14 Mar 2022
Sold for ZAR 6 449
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT