27th Mar, 2017 15:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
172
Moshekwa Langa (South Africa 1975-)
she thought of him often
mixed media on paper,
Signature details: scribed with the title
Sold for R102,312
Estimated at R100,000 - R150,000
mixed media on paper,
Signature details: scribed with the title
(1)
140 x 100 cm
Notes:
Moshekwa Langa’s somewhat enigmatic work She Thought of Him Often, rendered in mixed media, encapsulates his preoccupation with relations between disparate entities and between different people. Critic Nicola Brandt has identified Langa’s four main areas of expression as mapping, portraiture, figurative subjects and abstract works that include collage (2005:78).It is in the last that the present lot belongs although in its simplicity and sentimentality it evokes the idea of a figure, however absent. A characteristic, curved line presents “a lyrical and romantically personal creation,” according to Brandt (2005:79).The contrasting colours tell of a location or object in the darkness. We are divided in what it could be: a rosy letter or a bloody house. Either way, there is a sense of arrival and departure, gain and loss. Of the common element in his intentionally random (an oxymoron), but well-worked style, Brandt tells us, “A mysterious soft light glows from within. The scrawls, dripped and dragged paint activate the surface, drawing the viewer into the alchemy of the work” (2005:79).A naively rendered, entwined thread holds the image together. Langa provides us with a canny insight: that the absent couple may still tie the knot.Langa was born in 1975 in Bakenberg, 300 kilometres outside Johannesburg near Potgietersrus. Much has been written about his journey from the country to the city, first to the old Bantustan capital of KwaMhlanga in KwaNdebele and then to Pretoria where he schooled at the Max Stibbe Waldorf School founded on the principals of Rudolf Steiner. Through graffiti-like mapping and connecting of coloured thread he explores his own sense of place and “placelessness”.This he does while working abroad (mostly in Amsterdam), navigating the expectations people have of an African artist. It’s an element that has brought an inevitable tension to his work.In a very universal way, She Thought of Him Often tells us that while the object of affection may be far away, he is certainly not forgotten.
Matthew Krouse
Sources:
Colombo, P. Brandt N, et al. (2005) Moshekwa Langa. Electa, DARC, Maxxi.
You can place an absentee bid through our website - please sign in to your account on our website to proceed.
In the My Account tab you can also enter telephone bids, or email bids@aspireart.net to log telephone/absentee bids.
Join us on the day of the auction to follow and bid in real-time.
The auction will be live-streamed with an audio-visual feed.
Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 27th Mar, 2017
The Inaugural Cape Auction offed a diverse range of top-quality historic, modern and contemporary works. With a focus on critically engaged art and a curated approach, seasoned and new collectors competed to acquire significant works.
Aspire’s commitment to the growth of the art market saw international records broken in recognition of exiled South African artists. Louis Maqhubela’s Exiled King, a definitive, politically motivated work, sold for R341,040 - three times his previous record, and Albert Adams’ Untitled (Four Figures with Pitchforks), his first appearance at auction, sold for R136,416. Top prices were also achieved for established artists including J.H Pierneef, William Kentridge, and Edoardo Villa, and contemporary artwork fared exceptionally with record prices for David Brown, Steven Cohen, Mohau Modisakeng, Moshekwa Langa, and Mikhael Subotzky.
Viewing
Friday 24 March 2017 | 10 am – 7 pm
Saturday 25 March 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 26 March 2017 | 10 am – 4 pm
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.
Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:
Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440
Over-size: Special quote
Should artwork(s) be collected or delivered to/from Clients by Aspire Art directly, the following charges will apply:
Collection/delivery ≤20km: R400
Collection/delivery 20km>R800≤50km
Collection/delivery >50km: Special quote
Packaging
A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.
International Collectors Shipping Package
For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.
For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.
Aspire Art will arrange suitable storage during, and cost-effective shipping at the end, of the annual period.
Collections
Collections are by appointment, with 24-hours’ notice
Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.
Handling Fee
Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.