Ephrem Solomon
Untitled, from the Black and White series
About the SessionNAIROBI – Following their successful collaboration in 2025, Strauss & Co, Africa’s leading auction house, and Danda Jaroljmek, Director of Art Auction East Africa, will present Art Auction East Africa | Strauss & Co, a 67-lot sale bringing together modern and contemporary art from East Africa and the wider continent. The live-virtual sale will be held at Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi on Wednesday, 28 October, 2026, 7pm EAT. The catalogue spans a diversity of East African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, alongside works by artists from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Nigeria. Works on paper, photography and sculpture complements the strong painting consignment. “The selection invites collectors to discover East Africa’s diverse modernist histories, particularly those beyond the Anglophone world,” says Susie Goodman. “In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in East African modernists, with artists associated with the Khartoum School shown in museums and fairs globally. Our work as an auction house rooted in Africa is ensuring this rediscovery is not temporary. We are delighted to partner with Danda Jaroljmek in cultivating a sustainable secondary market for East African modernists active during the era of decolonisation and independence.” A preview exhibition will be held at Circle Art Gallery, Victoria Square, Riara Road, Nairobi, during the two weeks preceding the auction on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.
LOT 14
Ephrem Solomon
Untitled, from the Black and White series
About this Item
signed on the reverse
Provenance
Private Collection.
Notes
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Ephrem Solomon creates inquisitive artworks using wood cut panels and mixed media, based on his socio-political observations of contemporary Addis Ababa. Trained in traditional printmaking, Solomon uses carved marks to make constructed portraits informed by the people who inhabit the spaces around him, creating figures that can be recognised, but are also invisible in society. “They can be me or you. They are anyone” he says.
Solomon graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art and Graphic Design from Entoto Art School in Addis Ababa. Solomon's solo exhibitions include LIFE VS TIME, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, 2016 and Untitled Life, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 2014. He has been included in numerous international group exhibitions, including What About Africa?, Witteveen Visual Art Centre, Amsterdam, 2016; Nine Artists Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, 2015; and Pangaea II: New art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2015. His work is in private collections in Dubai, the UAE, Kenya, South Africa and the UK, including the Saatchi Collection.
Biography courtesy of Circle Art Gallery.
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