Curatorial Voices: African Landscapes, Past and Present
Live Virtual Auction, 19 February 2024
Curatorial Voices: African Landscapes, Past and Present
About the SessionFrom Thomas Baines to Jake Aikman, Curatorial Voices: African Landscapes, Past and Present will showcase art by pioneering modernist and trailblazing contemporary artists, spanning 175 years of visual landscape painting on the African continent. This comprehensive auction reveals a nuanced understanding of the diverse cultural, historical, and environmental contexts that have shaped artistic representations of the landscape. Through an examination of various themes, the auction seeks to engage viewers in a dialogue that transcends time and space, connecting past representations to contemporary perspectives. The auction attempts to engage with the diversity of artists that have shaped and continue to shape the depiction of Africa through time.
The auction invites viewers on a captivating journey through the artistic expressions that mirror the multifaceted nature of African terrain. Through meticulous curation and insightful analysis, the catalogue aspires to be a valuable resource for scholars, art enthusiasts and anyone eager to embark on a thought-provoking exploration of Africa’s rich and complex artistic heritage.
Curatorial Voices
Recognising the dynamic discourse surrounding African Landscape, both past and present, the auction features texts by invited contemporary curators responding to the auction selection and themes. As external voices, they provide critical insights into the complexities of the landscape theme. By amplifying these contemporary perspectives, the exhibition seeks to bridge the gap between traditional representations and the ever-evolving discourse on the role of African art within the global art market.
Azza Satti, Independent Curator, Kenya
Azu Nwagbogu, Founder and Director of the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), Nigeria
Camilla van Hoogstraten, Head of Sales, Latitudes Online
Ugoma Ebilah, Curator, Gallerist & Founder of Bloom Art
Nkgopoleng Moloi, Independent Curator, South Africa
About this Item
signed and dated 24.4.1967; signed, inscribed with the title, medium and 'Simons Town, C P South Africa' on the reverse; inscribed with the artist's name and the title on the reverse
Notes
Beachcombing
Strolling on the littered beach
his was the eye that would search
for retrievable things,
above the tidal reach,
appealing to curiosity, childish ideas and taste.
Collecting, flotsam on the way,
thinking aloud, occasionally he’d say to us,
“I’ll take this and this. . . and that. . .”
He’d pick up driftwood to carve
or knock together.
Often he’d find a need for every piece,
fishbone, feather, plant and weed.
“It needn’t go to waste.”
He’d pick up bits of metal and later
flatten folds and creases
then cut and purposefully
put together different pieces
with carefully placed nails
and lengths of measured wire and wood.
So inventive,
able to improvise easily
he received his buddies’ admiration.
It was good to see
the ingenious way his mind functioned
and the slender hands give shape
to things.
Had later times been right,
would that he had tried
to reach the sky.
- Peter Clarke1
In his poem, Beachcombing, the artist/poet talks about himself in the third person. He is observing himself on the beach, searching for things that have been washed up by the waves. It is easy to imagine the scene depicted in the present lot as one viewed upon Clarke's frequent beach walks.
1. B Commin (2014) Peter Clarke, South African Artist and Poet 1929 - 2014, online, https://bobcommin.blog/2023/07/09/peter-clarke-south-african-artist-and-poet-1929-2014/, accessed 25 January 2024.
This lot has been selected by Curatorial Voice: Nkgopoleng Moloi.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner's father.
The DinksFãStan Private Collection.
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