African art growing on world stage

WITH major museums in London and New York showcasing leading contemporary African artists this summer, and Angola’s recent success at the Biennale in Venice, the world of art finally putting Africa on its map.

Ghanaian sculptor, El Anatsui, is among the most celebrated contemporary African artists at the moment. Among his most iconic pieces are sculptures made from thousands of bottle tops, strung together with copper wire to form enormous shimmering sheets, which undulate and fold into different shapes.

Mr Anatsui’s installations are currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York — one of the few solo exhibitions of an African artist at a big institution in the United States in the last few decades.

Tate Modern, one of the leading contemporary art museums in the world recently  decided to expand their collection of African art. This was noted among curators, as well as private collectors, and this is widely seen to have contributed substantially to the current buzz about African art.

Bonhams in London is the only auction house with an annual sale dedicated to contemporary African art — the first auction was five years ago.

Compared to contemporary art from other parts of the world, the prices for African art are still quite modest.