An auction featuring works by artists from Portuguese-speaking Africa, such as Malangatana (1936-2011), Bertina Lopes (1924-2012) and Manuela Jardim, was scheduled to take place last week in Paris, organised by auctioneer Piasa, from Lisbon-based Portuguese gallery Perve.
The international auction dedicated to modern and contemporary African art will take place from 6pm, and includes a section dedicated to artistic production from Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP).
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Works in painting, sculpture and photography by artists of various generations, including the Mozambicans Malangatana, Bertina Lopes, Reinata Sadimba, Ricardo Rangel, Sérgio Santimano, Marco Brás or João Donato: from Cabo Verde, Manuel Figueira and Abraão Vicente: from Angola, Ana Silva; from Sao Tome, José Chambel and Valdemar Dória; and from Guinea-Bissau, Manuela Jardim, are among the works represented in the catalogue of auction house Piasa, available online.
The work of Angolan photographer Edson Chagas is also represented in the catalogue, with the set of images ” Found Not Taken” from 2013, the year in which his work ,represented Angola at the 55th Venice Biennale, winning the Golden Lion for Best National Participation.
Chagas’ photographs went into the installation “Luanda, Encyclopaedic City”, curated by Paula Nascimento and Stefano Pansera, which represented Angola in Venice.
The auction catalogue also includes an artist’s book by Angolan writer and visual artist José Eduardo Agualusa, entitled “Gramática do instante e do Infinito” (2021).
With sections dedicated to the artistic production of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal or Benin, the auctioneer created one specifically entitled “Lusophonies”, which bears the name of the Perve art collection, with a presentation by Olivia Anani, co-director of the Piasa Contemporary African Art department.
Olivia Anani highlighted, in the text, the work in photography by Mozambicans Ricardo Rangel and Sérgio Santimano, “sensitive and powerful testimony of the history of Mozambique, under construction,” highlighting the names of artists Bertina Lopes, Malangatana, Ídasse Tembe, Ernesto Shikani (1934-2010) and Teresa Rosa d’Oliveira (1945-2019).
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In a statement about the auction, Perve Galeria points out that the work by Ernesto Shikhani, an artist it has represented since 2003, was recently integrated in the Collection of the Georges Pompidou Centre, in Paris.
The gallery also recalled that the work of artist Teresa Roza d’Oliveira, a “feminist and libertarian” born in Mozambique, was highlighted in October in an exhibition at the AKAA contemporary African art fair, also held in the French capital.
