PARIS.- On 29 Novembe 2017 PIASA will offer for sale a fresh selection of artists and designers from Africa and its diaspora at the auction Contemporary African Art + Design. The auction will take place at PIASA's premises in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, which will host an exceptional installation by Benin artist Edwige Aplogan for the occasion.

Discovering African Design
A natural link between the two PIASA specialities of Contemporary African Art and Contemporary African Design, the sale will feature works of contemporary African Design by artists/designers from West Africa and the Maghreb for the first time. Highlights include two limited-edition works by Hamed Ouattara (Burkina Faso), his Indigola cabinet and Gold furniture.

There will be a number of high quality items by Aïssa Dione, one of the stars of the recent Revelations fair at the Grand Palais, whose fabrics are much in demand among Paris decorators. Hicham Lahlou, founder of Africa Design Days in Marrakesh, and whose work could be admired in the Silvera showroom during the recent Paris Design Week, is represented by a splendid light made of copper trumpets.

From North African Modern Art to Sub-Saharan Design
True to PIASA's commitment to reflecting the wealth of artistic creativity in Africa and among members of the African diaspora, the sale will include works by established artists present in biennales, museums, exhibitions and leading collections, alongside works by emerging artists with tremendous potential. The sale runs to around a hundred lots by artists from across Africa and members of the African diaspora, who take their inspiration from their roots and everyday lives amidst current preoccupations.

Edwige Aplogan: The African Continent in situ
The Benin artist Edwige Aplogan envelops the main buildings of Benin linked to the history of African independence, covering them with all the flags of the African continent in a way that questions architecture and history.

‘We hope both Parisians and international visitors will view this project as a standard-bearer for the cohesion that exists between these peoples in Paris' says PIASA's Head of Strategy & Development Christophe Person

‘When I began wrapping monuments or places of memory in Benin and France in 2010, the flags of African and Caribbean countries were linked to the 50th anniversary of the independence of African countries from France' explains Aplogan.

‘The project has evolved over the years, and the ‘independence' flags now include the memory of slavery, with the flags of countries from South America and the Caribbean, where slaves were deported. So these installations pay tribute to the African diaspora throughout the world.

‘I draped the Red Star monument in Cotonou in 2010; Adjarradocodji Square and the building of the late President Apithy in Porto Novo in 2011; the place where slaves were auctioned, in front of the Cha-Cha De Souza slave building in Ouidah (a UNESCO world heritage site) in 2012; and a boat on the banks of the Gironde in Pauillac in 2015.

‘With the project to envelop the PIASA building, I wish to highlight its relevance to art history and cultural heritage, and how it offers visitors the chance to discover the work of African artists, many of whom live in Europe. The entrance will be draped with Abomey tapestries – another way of recounting history, featuring distinctive objects or animals evoking people's daily lives. This is also a way to show and share, however briefly, the imagination of an entire people in a calmer climate.' --Edwige Aplogan