CAPE TOWN.- The first major contemporary art auction on the African continent is set to take place in Cape Town when Strauss & Co presents its inaugural Contemporary Art auction on 26 February 2015 in conjunction with The Cape Town Art Fair 2015.

The auction, one of the five core events of The Cape Town Art Fair, will be held at the Regatta Centre of the Royal Cape Yacht Club. Located in the Table Bay Harbour with its breathtaking view of the marina, the setting harks back to the days when the city was a pivotal stop on trade routes linking the east and the west. With ever-increasing international interest in the art of South Africa and Africa, it provides the ideal location for an auction of the finest contemporary art.

“One of the shortcomings of the South African art market” says Stephan Welz, MD at Strauss & Co, “has been the absence of a lively, well presented, and most importantly a respected secondary market in contemporary art. I believe at Strauss & Co we are able to fill this gap admirably and with this auction will set new standards.”

This dedicated contemporary auction offers the very best in African and international art. Key works already consigned include major sculptures by globally recognised artists such as Berlinde De Bruyckere and Nam June Paik. De Bruyckere was the solo artist in the Belgian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013, curated by J M Coetzee and commissioned by the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent, where her retrospective exhibition opens in October 2014. Schmerzensmann III (R2 500 000 – 3 500 000), created in 2006, is a powerful reflection on humanity, with its fragile body draped over an iron column.

Nam June Paik, who associated with Joseph Beuys and John Cage and participated in the Neo-Dada movement, Fluxus, of which Yoko Ono was also a member, is widely considered to be the founder of video art. Paik envisioned his explorations of technology as part of an ‘electronic superhighway’ – a term he coined – that would liberate artists to explore new media. His Internet Dweller: mpbdcg.ten.sspv (R800 000 – 1 200 000), produced in 1994, conceived as an imaginary being that lives on the internet, displays both the artist’s visionary foresight in fusing art and technology and his unique sense of humour.

Works of this calibre appeal both to international connoisseurs and to South Africans looking to expand their collections beyond our borders by including the best examples of cutting-edge contemporary art.

Amongst the works by top South African artists, Ed Young’s Arch (R450 000 – 550 000) is set to fly. Commissioned for The Institute for Democracy in Africa’s Cape Town Democracy Centre and launched by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in September 2010, it depicts the Archbishop swinging from a chandelier, his face lit by his famous mischievous smile. Its strapline, ‘BE PATIENT, WE ONLY HAVE A FEW THINGS TO FIX’ reminds us that Young, arguably one of South Africa’s most controversial artists, has a penchant for incisive commentary.

Collectors are now able to consign high quality works of contemporary art with the assurance that they will benefit from Strauss & Co’s long-standing auction experience and consistent record-breaking results as well as the acknowledged contemporary art expertise of its art specialists.

Emma Bedford is highly regarded both locally and internationally, having played an unequalled role as Senior Curator responsible for contemporary art at Iziko South African National Gallery. She is an acknowledged expert in modern and contemporary art, has extensive experience in curating local and international exhibitions and has authored and edited numerous publications.

Ruarc Peffers has been closely involved with the development of the secondary market for contemporary art in South Africa since 2006. In 2010 he obtained an MSc in Curatorial Studies and Art Criticism from the University of Edinburgh where his research focussed on the processes of revenue creation within contemporary art. Both senior art specialists have participated in international contemporary art fairs and bring their extensive knowledge of contemporary art and their art advisory experience to bear on shaping Strauss & Co’s inaugural Contemporary Art auction.

Amongst the contemporary art sold at Strauss & Co, the following achieved records:
• Jane Alexander, Untitled, R5 456 640, in 2013
• Robert Hodgins, Et in Arcadia Ego, R1 002 600, in 2012
• Nandipha Mntambo, Europa, R113 680, in 2014
• Penny Siopis, Imaging, R668 400, in 2013