Art that tells stories

The Progression is valued at R1.3 million to R1.7 million and is one of the works to be auctioned in the Fine Art and Collectables Auction in Johannesburg on November 25 and 26.

Egon Guenther, a renowned Johannesburg gallerist, formed the short-lived Amadlozi Group in 1961, along with fellow artist Cecil Skotnes. Other members included Guiseppe Cattaneo, Cecily Sash, Sydney Kumalo and Edoardo Villa. Amadlozi means “spirit of our ancestors” and artworks produced by the group reflected an African influence.

“The group also facilitated the emergence of talented black artists during the restrictive apartheid years,” according to Imre Lamprecht, head of the art department at Stephan Welz & Co, “allowing artists like Sydney Kumalo and Lucas Sithole to come to the forefront and achieve international acclaim.”

Completed in 1971, Skotnes’ The Progression was saved from a government auction and preserved by its current owner, according to Lamprecht. “The phrase ‘historically significant’ does not begin to describe the work. The panels are representative of the visual language Skotnes developed, reflective of his fascination with archaeology, ancient cultures and the concept of hidden, elusive or dormant histories,” she says.

“Amadlozi artists, many of whom were sculptors primarily, have had great success on the market over the past few years. They are well respected and well collected and are always in big demand.”

Artists like Cecily Sash and Lucas Sithole are both represented in the sale. Sithole, who died in 1994, is best known for his sculptures in indigenous wood. The two sculptures to be auctioned are Changing His Mind (Lena Nangale), valued at R250 000 to R350 000 and What Are You Hiding, which has an estimated value of R150 000 to R200 000.

Born in 1924, Cecily Sash is equally considered an artist and art teacher. Her long and distinguished career is firmly rooted in South Africa, although she chose exile in England in 1974 less for political and social reasons than personal and artistic ones. Sash’s two works to be auctioned are Cartograph I, valued at R30 000 to R40 000, and Bird with Ribbons, which features her characteristic anthropomorphic birds and is valued at R25 000 to R35 000.

Conveying two very different South African landscapes – the Rustenberg Kloof and the Bo Kaap – with equal passion are 20th-century masterpieces by Jacob Pierneef and Freida Lock to be auctioned.

The lush flora in Rustenberg, painted in a mature style by Pierneef, was executed in pastel colours that strongly hint the work was painted during autumn 1942. The painting is valued at R600 000 to R800 000. Freida Lock, whose artistic career was tumultuous, painted The Mosque, Bo-Kaap, a scene not far from her house on Cape Town’s Bree Street. It has an estimated value of R500 000 to R800 000.