PARIS.- African artists whose work includes images of migration will be much in evidence in the third sale of Contemporary African Art at PIASA, one of France’s most distinguished auction houses, on November 17 in Paris.

Christophe Person, who heads the Contemporary African Art department at PIASA in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré points out that the issue of migration is a major theme coming out of contemporary African art. “It is hardly surprising that so many African artists feel compelled to paint this agony. For many it has been their only reality. As this theme of migration is universal it connects powerfully with international collectors. We need to remember that making art like this can cost you your freedom, even your life.”

An artist whose life embodies these issues is Aboudia. Often compared with Jean-Michel Basquiat, he was born in 1983 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and lives and works in Abidjan and New York.

Aboudia says that the riots that followed the disputed Ivorian presidential election in late 2010 greatly influenced his painting. While some artists chose to flee the civil war, Aboudia decided to stay and continue working despite the danger. He worked in an artist’s studio right next to the Golf Hotel, Ouattara’s headquarters during the post-electoral crisis. He could hear the bullets zipping through the air while he painted. When the shooting got too heavy, he hid in the cellar and tried to imagine what was going on.

As soon as things calmed down he would go back upstairs and paint everything he had in mind. Whenever he was able to go outside, he would paint everything he saw as soon as he returned. Some of his paintings were also inspired from footage he saw on the news or the Internet.

Aboudia is in the collections of Charles Saatchi, Jean Pigozzi and Frank Cohen. He is represented in major art market centers like London, New York and also on the Continent.

On June 9th 2016, a Painting by Aboudia, Untitled 2013 (125 x 200 cm), offered by PIASA at auction hit a record price of € 21,896.

On 17th November, PIASA will offer 4 lots from Aboudia. Two mixed Media on canvas and two sets of two drawings made in 2011, estimated € 3,000 to 4000. It is unusual to find this work for sale as it has never previously been presented at auction.

The work of Didier Viodé (Born in 1979, Ivory Coast) has been influenced by the media - North-South relations and the heated debate on immigration. The series "The Clowns of the G8" asks hard questions about the hypocrisy and deceit of the men of power. PIASA will be offering a set of eight works, ink on paper for an estimate of € 4000 / 6000.

For Bruce Clarke political activism in particular in South Africa has impacted on his work. He was involved in the struggles within the anti-apartheid organizations and the ANC (African National Congress). He continues to work on cultural projects in Africa by working with the Afrika Cultural Centre Johannnesburg. By the early 1990s, Clarke followed African friends into exile in Paris. The war in Rwanda and the warning signs of genocide and the horror of August-September 1994 permeates his imagery. .

PIASA will be offering three works by Bruce Clarke

Two water colours and collage on paper estimated € 2000 / 3000 each, and one acrylic and collage on canvas estimated € 6000 / 8000.

Sadek Rahim (Born in 1971, Algeria) works with carpets and his recent work is much influenced by this time in the Lebanon, Syria, Algeria and Britain. His recent work almost exclusively relates to the plight of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean Sea.

Neill Wright (1985, South Africa). Throughout the continent, bronze statues are erected as symbols of freedom, unity and strength, embodying the ideals of nationhood, however they have also come to be perceived as symbols of megalomania and bad governance.

Wrights sculptures function ironically as a monument or memorial to mark one of the many legacies of ‘liberation’.

Last Resort is about the movement of refugees, many of whom are considered just a number, a strain on a countries resources and a burden, failing to acknowledge the sheer desperation that is experienced by displaced persons. The characters gestural language illustrates the reluctance to move and the weight and burden of the journey. PIASA will be offering 1 bronze, estimated € 6000 / 8000

Romual Hazoumé is engaged and holds strong positions on the strategies of museums, galerists and collectors of Contemporary and Classical African art. He is famous for his works made of plastic cans that reflect on the mouvement of people and of goods, slavery, corruption an unfair trade with humour and consistency.

Hazoumé was preseted in the exhibition Picasso Mania at the Grand Palais. He was presented in 2016 by Gagosian.

PIASA will be offering a mask with an estimate of € 14000 / 18000