29th Sep, 2021 19:00

Modern & Contemporary Art

 
Lot 30
 
Lot 30 - Edoardo Villa (South Africa 1915-2011)

30

Edoardo Villa (South Africa 1915-2011)
Sculpture III

painted steel

Artwork date: 1969/70
Literature: Engel, E.P. (ed.). (1980). Edoardo Villa Sculpture. Johannesburg: United Book Distributors. Illustrated on pp.173 (depicted on p.173 in the artist's garden) 189, 193, plate 44.

Sold for R1,024,200
Estimated at R950,000 - R1,250,000


 

painted steel

Artwork date: 1969/70
Literature: Engel, E.P. (ed.). (1980). Edoardo Villa Sculpture. Johannesburg: United Book Distributors. Illustrated on pp.173 (depicted on p.173 in the artist's garden) 189, 193, plate 44.

(1)

height: 280 cm

Provenance:

From the artist’s personal collection where he installed it in his sculpture garden in Kew, Johannesburg
Private collection, Johannesburg.

Notes:

Accompanied by the original prints of the artist with this sculpture depicted, both signed on the reverse

The sale of Traverse, which Edoardo Villa completed in 1957, by Aspire Art Auctions in September 2020 for a record-breaking R4,893,400—more than double its low estimate of R2 million and almost three times the previous record set by Aspire in 2017—confirmed both the artist’s stature and the strength of the local art market, despite current economic challenges. It also provided unequivocal proof that top quality art by sought-after artists sells best through the most knowledgeable channels.

By 1959 Villa had completed his Africa, originally commissioned for the Union Pavilion at Milner Park, Johannesburg and now commanding pride of place at the Norval Foundation in Steenberg, Cape Town. Forging African-inspired imagery and Cubist forms, allowed the sculptor to develop a unique artistic language drawing on both his European heritage and his local environment.

1969 marked the beginning of a significant period in Villa’s career. He began to juxtapose individual sculptures into groupings of figures. As one of a body of related works, Sculpture III emphasises the relationality between people and celebrates Villa’s famed love of his fellow human beings as expressed in his gregarious character and his enjoyment of sharing food, wine and ideas.

While retaining something of the classical stability associated with his early sculptures, his new groupings of forms now take on a dynamism associated with action. An early work like Sculpture III is notable for its balance of rest and momentum, achieved through Villa’s mastery of generous proportions and spatial dynamics. While his forms are abstract, they retain a sensuous organic quality that always references the human body and human interaction. Ultimately, these works celebrate life and the precious engagement with others that is so central to our sense of self.

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Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art, 29th Sep, 2021

Aspire Art Auctions brings a significant and insightfully compiled selection of top-quality modern and contemporary art to auction in Cape Town. The sale stars exceptional works by many of South Africa’s big signatures, including, William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, Penny Siopis, Edoardo Villa, Sydney Kumalo and J.H Pierneef, amongst others. Also featured is an exciting collection of contemporary artists from elsewhere in Africa – Patrick Bongoy and Zemba Luzamba from the Congo, Moustapha Baïdi Oumarou from Cameroon and Gerald Chukwuma from Nigeria.

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