Nigerian contemporary art booms and prices soar
LAGOS: First there was Tutu , the “African Mona Lisa” sold last year for US$1.5mil (RM6.2mil). Then a second portrait by revered Nigerian painter Ben Enwonwu, called Christine, sold in mid-October, for US$1.4mil (RM5.8mil).
Both record sales of famous works by the late “father of African modernism”, captured the emergence of Nigeria’s art market.
A decade ago, major African artists were largely absent from international auctions. But the continent is now a major attraction in contemporary and modern art.
“Africa is one of the fastest growing markets in the art world today, and Nigeria is equal on the top with South Africa,” said Giles Peppiatt, director of African art at Bonhams.
His auction house was one of the first in Europe to bet big on the continent with “Africa Now” beginning in 2007, auctioning African art as a stand alone sale.
In the vibrant commercial capital of Lagos, with 20 million people, its cultural season, awash with literary fashion and art festivals, culminates this weekend with the international fair “ART X”.
Three years after it began, the fair has emerged as one of the premier art events on the continent, exhibiting the rich array of African modern and contemporary art.
The famous Tutu, “lost” for almost 40 years and spectacularly found in 2018, almost by chance, in a London apartment, was the surprise attraction of the last edition, drawing several thousand attendees.
A show-reel of Nollywood’s actresses, traditional leaders, wealthy collectors and artists trooped to the painting of the mysterious Yoruba princess.
At the end of the year, Nigeria’s economic-hub becomes awash with glamour and arts.
Thousands of visitors rush from one exhibition to another, from ART X to the Lagos Biennale of contemporary art, Lagos fashion week and LagosPhoto, all of which take place between October and November.
But alongside the art, is an increasing market and appetite amongst investors and collectors.
New galleries like Art Twenty One have opened in recent years.
And the auction house Art House Contemporary Limited, whose turnover is more modest than that of its European peers, regularly exhibits the most notable artists in the region: Enwonwu, Yusuf Grillo, El Anatsui or Peju Alatise.