A feast of African Modernism

The third session, on Monday evening (8 November), also focuses on the impact of historical African art and European Modernist painting on post-war South Africa art. Lavishly illustrated and contextualised in the print catalogue, this in-session focus features paintings and sculptures by, among others, Eduardo Villa, Sydney Kumalo, Alexis Preller, Lucas Sithole, Cyprian Shilakoe, and Cecil Skotnes.

“Spirit of the Ancestors”

Villa, Skotnes and Kumalo exhibited together as the Amadlozi Group, a term that means ‘spirit of the ancestors’, a name conceived by Kumalo.

German goldsmith and art dealer Egon Guenther curated their first exhibition in his Johannesburg gallery in October 1963.

Guenther, who believed that a significant work of art should reflect its time and environment, was instrumental in encouraging these artists to draw on African inspiration for their work.

He exposed them to his own extensive collection of historical African art at a time when cultural restrictions during the apartheid era meant that access to these types of art was difficult.

Guenther also acquainted Skotnes with contemporary German graphic artists, who were to have a seminal influence on his early woodcuts.

Villa, Skotnes and Kumalo’s work brought together the dramatic forms of the African environment and symbolism from indigenous cosmology with currents from European Modernism. They were inspired by Pablo Picasso, sculptor Constantin Brancusi and the German Expressionists who had pioneered the incorporation of African themes and stylistic elements in their own art.

As a young artist, Kumalo worked with Villa twice a week from 1958 to 1960. The artists discussed the Cubist approach to the simplification of three-dimensional form, and this is evident in Kumalo’s structural treatment of the human form. He always acknowledged Skotnes and Villa as mentors and friends and that under their guidance he had learnt the technical skills with which to develop his own distinctive formal language.

Kumalo’s Mythological Rider (estimate R1000 000 – 1 500 000) and Hugging Nude (R 180 000 – 240 000) display many of the characteristics of African art and European Modernism with which his fellow artists were grappling.

In Mythological Rider, a large human figure is depicted astride a prowling beast. The power relations are self-evident – the figure is disproportionately larger than the comparatively small beast. The figures also share limbs, which simplifies the composition and complicates assumptions about the relationship between the two beings. Mythological Rider has the same striated, scarred surface quality as many of Kumalo’s other bronze sculptures. The depth and curves in the form of the beast additionally create a sense of movement, and the rider pulling far back adds a further sense of dynamism to the composition.

The exchange of ideas and practices in the Amadlozi Group was undoubtedly the catalyst to developing the African-inflected style, content, and technique of this extraordinary group of pioneering artists.

Masks of Africa

Other highlights on the auction that reference African forms are Villa’s African Mask I and II (estimate R300 000 – R500 000 and R400 000 – R600 000, respectively) and Sithole’s African’s sculpture Mask Form (estimate 400 000 – 600 000).

“Traditional masks serve an important role during indigenous African rituals and ceremonies. They represent the spirits of animals, ancestors, and mythological creatures or other natural subjects. They are used during performances and spiritual dances. Sithole and Villa both drew inspiration from traditional African masks and these cultural associations,” Richard Ndimande, artist and art specialist at Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg office, explains.

“Villa’s masks, cast in bronze, are clearly influenced by 19th and early 20^th century West and Central African masks. A key feature of these masks is the so-called double faces. In Western art this references the Roman god Janus, god of beginnings, transitions, and duality. In African belief systems, they are generally referred to as ‘Twins’,” Ndimande says.

Villa’s two-faced heads are reminiscent of the Luba heads from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They frequently “rely on dramatically simplified features and faceted surfaces that intersect at oblique angles and ricochet through the piece,’ artist Karel Nel explains in Villa in Bronze.1

Another Sithole sculpture, The Bison (view from left), Lion Making a Kill (view from right), LS8913 (estimate 300 000 – R500 000) is a mangled, textured composition of found root mass that the artist has chosen for its zoomorphic associations. The piece is a prime example of how African sculptors often take inspiration from the form of the medium itself and let it guide them towards the final appearance.

The highlight of the auction is undoubtedly Alexis Preller’s large oil Adam and Eve (estimate R7.6 – 8 million), says Alastair Meredith, senior art specialist and head of Strauss & Co’s art department.

“Adam and Eve is one of Preller’s mid-career masterpieces. Monumental and lyrical, rich and gorgeously coloured, timeless yet jaw-droppingly unique, symbolically loaded and joyously intricate, the painting is a beautiful snapshot from Preller’s very personal vision of Africa.”

Strauss & Co’s forthcoming live virtual sale is currently open for viewing in its dedicated exhibition space at 89 Central Street, Houghton. Covid-19 regulations apply. Johannesburg Auction Week will commence at 10 am on Sunday, 7 November and conclude at 7 pm on Tuesday, 9 November 2021.

View the auction at https://www.straussart.co.za/auctions/details/7-nov-2021

Notes

Chris de Klerk and Gerhard de Kamper (2012) Villa in Bronze, Pretoria: University of Pretoria Museum, another case from the edition illustrated in colour on page 50.

Strauss & Co (2010) Artists with a passion for Africa: drafted by Emma Bedford after an interview with Egon Guenther on 26 March 2010. (https://www.straussart.co.za/2010/artists-with-a-passion-for-africa).

Strauss & Co Auction Catalogue: Live Virtual Auction, 7 – 8 November 2021 African Art and Early Modernism 59- 68.