Modern, Post-War, Contemporary Art
Live Virtual Auction, 7 - 8 November 2021
Evening Sale
Lot Estimate
ZAR 400 000 - 600 000
About this Item
South African 1915-2011
African Mask II
signed, dated 2007 numbered 4/6 and inscribed 'Fuso'
bronze with a brown patina
height: 72cm; width: 40cm; depth: 32cm
Notes
‘Throughout his career, (Villa) looked to the innovative stylisation of faces in African masks for inspiration for the coded rearrangement of features in his own work. His heads sometimes have two faces, reminiscent of the Luba ‘Janus’ heads. Others rely on dramatically simplified features and faceted surfaces that intersect at oblique angles and ricochet through the piece …’
Karel Nel
Literature
Chris de Klerk and Gerhard de Kamper (2012) Villa in Bronze, Pretoria: University of Pretoria Museum, another cast from the edition illustrated in black and white on page 51.