A Visit to Strauss & Co Art Auctioneers
Yesterday, I visited Strauss & Co ahead of their November auction for a media walk-about of the fantastic sculptures and artwork across the upcoming five-day sale. There is R65 million worth of art here and many pieces will soon be hidden away in art collectors’ homes, never to be shown to the public again.
Visit Strauss & Co at their Houghton Gallery.
About Strauss and Co
Strauss & Co are fine art auctioneers and art consultants offering a diverse annual program of hybrid offline and online auctions featuring South African art and wine as well as jewelry and more. They operate in both Joburg and Cape Town. The auction house was founded in 2008 by Dr. Conrad Strauss and Elisabeth Bradley, along with Sotheby’s veteran and South African art expert Stephan Welz. A year later, the first sale of modern and contemporary South African art and decorative arts took place in 2009. Read more about it here.
South Africa’s Modern and Contemporary Artists
William Kentridge
Many of the artworks that I first recognized when I came in were from William Kentridge. He’s arguably one of the most recognized South African artists, (at least from my layman’s point of view). Kentridge has had 265 solo exhibits since 1979, the first of which was at the Market Theater here in Joburg. He currently has an exhibit running at the Royal Academy in London. His group exhibits total 715!
I first encountered Kentridge’s work in Rome, when visiting my parents, in the neighborhood of Trastevere. (I’ve got a whole guide about Trastevere if you’re planning on a trip!). Along the Tiber River, Kentridge used a power washer to wash away dirty parts of a grand wall to create the scene of Romeo’s birth. It’s hard to miss.
A tbt from my visit to Trastevere in 2017. Just look at how LARGE the work is.
Some of Kentridge’s art from that is available for sale at the auction.
The highlight of Kentridge’s pieces at Strauss & Co’s is the Peonies with Book, which starts at R2.5 million!
Our tour started with Dr. Alastair Meredith, Head of Department, Senior Art Specialist, highlighting Peonies with Book
Marina Abramović
Another familiar artist was Marina Abramovic. You may remember her from her performative art which included her and her boyfriend at the time walking along the wall of China in opposite directions to break up. Read more about that here. If you hadn’t heard about that, maybe you remember her 2010 exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art, where Abramović sat for eight hours a day in silence, at a table. Members of the public were invited to sit on the other end of her table and stare into her eyes (if you dared).
Strauss and Co has an interesting collection of her digital prints for sale. The Portrait with Scorpion Open Eyes is priced at R 250,000 – 350,000.
Beyond the Familiar
Besides seeing some familiar names, I also had to chance to learn about artists I hadn’t heard of before. Irma Stern (1894 – 1966) was a painter and avid traveler, visiting not only Europe, but also southern Africa, Zanzibar, and the Congo region, which was pretty unusual at the time for a woman! Her portrait of an urbanized sitter, an African Woman, is estimated at R5 – 6 million.
The largest display of work is by Andrew Verster: Mural for a Durban Dining Room. This large painting was commissioned by a judge in Durban to perfectly fit his dining room. There is a single gap in the painting where the judge’s serving table was located!
The oldest piece in the collection is Thomas Baines Brig in Table Bay which is dated back to1848. Bidding will start at R1 million for this piece. It looks like it belongs in a museum. (Who are the people buying these things? Please invite me over to see your house).
I really like this screen print series by Walter Battiss which depicts mines as a sort-of playground.
All the art pieces were stunning at Strauss & Co! You can visit the exhibit in advance of the sale, but go quick as these pieces will be gone once bidding starts.
IN/FORM: Exploring South African Sculpture
There will be 47 sculptures for sale at the auction. Two of the most notable artists were Job Kekana and Josephine Ghesa.
The collection of Kekana’s works comes from a German immigrant couple who would send Kekana a monthly stipend. In return, Kekana would mail them one of his wooden busts.
I loved his self-portrait, which includes a slightly droopy eye (as he was blind in his left eye), and the Woman with Necklace. Bidding on these items begins at around R16,000.
You may think you recognize Josephine Ghesa’s funky sculptures, and if you took a wild guess of Ardmore, you’d be right! Ghesa is one of the first Ardmore artists. Originally from Lesotho, she went to train at Ardmore in 1990, when the studio was just 5 years old. Unlike Ardmore’s modern collection, which includes somewhat useful pieces like candle holders, bowls, and plates, Ghesa experimented with spirituality and mysticism in purely decorative sculptures.
I love the Leopard with Chicken; bidding starts at R45,000 so you won’t see this in my home anytime soon.
A Tribute to Robert Hodgins
In addition to the main collection, this auction features a curation of work from artist Robert Hodgins. Although Hodgins passed in 2010, his works only recently have been collected from his studio floor and framed for Strauss & Co. There are several works made in collaboration with Sarah Ballam, Deborah Bell, Kendell Geers, William Kentridge, Jan Neethling, and Sam Nhlengethwa.
Even though Hodgins was part of the art world for many years (especially as a teacher), he only achieved fame for himself after his retirement in his 80’s.
Zoom in to see some of the before and after images shared by Wilhelm van Rensburg, Senior Art Specialist & Head Curator, during our walk.
How to bid (or just watch)
How do the auctions go? Well, a Strauss and Co staff member shared that one of their latest auctions lasted until 1 in the morning! Crazy!
You can visit in person or register to bid online here.
Don’t have the money to drop R1 million on these works? I don’t either. You can still come, have a glass of wine, and watch others spend their money to get a vibe of what an auction is like!
Strauss & Co’s upcoming November 2022 auctions
Modern and Contemporary Art, Part I
Live and Virtual Auction of the first set of paintings in the collection.
7:00pm Thu, 3 Nov 2022
View the catalog here.
Coats Family Cellar
The Coats Family Cellar is arguably the most prestigious fine wine collection ever offered in South Africa. It contains a deep collection of the world’s finest, most sought-after wines, spanning over 150 years. Collected over many decades, the cellar was imported from Ireland to South Africa via reefer. Each bottle within the Coats Family Cellar was authenticated by Michael Egan in August 2022 and given an ID number for tracking.
11:00am Sun, 6 Nov 2022
View the collection here.
IN/FORM: Exploring South African Sculpture
The 47-lot catalog for IN/FORM tracks various developments in three-dimensional artistic production – from modernist pioneer Anton van Wouw to contemporary artists Josephine Ghesa, Frances Goodman, and Angus Taylor.
7:00pm Monday, 7 Nov 2022
View the catalog here.
Modern and Contemporary Art, Part II
Live and Virtual Auction of the second set of paintings in the collection.
7:00pm Tuesday, 8 Nov 2022
View the catalog here.
Three Robs: Artist, Collaborator, Friend
Hailed as a national treasure when he passed in 2010, Robert Hodgins continues to loom large in the imagination of many who knew him, including his many collaborators, collectors, students, and readers of his penetrating art criticism.
7:00pm Wednesday, 9 Nov 2022
View the catalog here.
For more information and in-depth descriptions of the artists and their artwork, visit Strauss and Co’s website here and review all the catalogs.
Professional pictures supplied by Strauss and Co.