London – Three works by the acclaimed Ivorian artist, Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba (Born 1983), often known simply as Aboudia, are among the contemporary highlights of Bonhams Modern & Contemporary African Art sale on Tuesday 12 October at New Bond Street, London. Leading the selection is Untitled, 2014, which has an estimate of £30,000 – 50,000, followed by Noutchy Graffiti, 2020, with an estimate of £18,000 – 25,000, and Untitled, 2016, estimated at £10,000 – 15,000.
Helene Love-Allotey, Bonhams Specialist, Modern and Contemporary African Art, commented: “This auction of Modern & Contemporary African Art is a brilliant opportunity to acquire works by Contemporary Artists such as Kemang Wa Lehulere, Kudzanai Chiurai, Zanele Muholi, El Anatsui, Joel Andrianomearisoa and Aboudia. In particular Aboudia’s bold and powerful works are currently taking the art world by storm. On the one hand he is influenced by the visual aesthetic of the graffiti in Abidjan and on the other by the heavy, traumatic impact of the Ivory Coast’s devastatingcivil war. Figurative and sometimes quite dark in more ways than one, his paintings often depict social inequality. Aboudia also regularly explores the relationship between African and Western art by collaging in found photographs of different masks from the Continent (such as Dan Masks from Liberia) within the canvas. Many well-known European artists were influenced but didn’t necessarily credit using these objects in the early 20th century, and it could therefore be argued that Aboudia is commenting on exactly this. It is no wonder his work has such appeal, and we expect these pieces to receive a lot of interest.”
Born in Côte d’Ivoire in 1983, Aboudia, as he would become known, became an artist against the wishes of his parents. He graduated first from the School of Applied Arts in Bingerville in 2003 and then in 2005, from the Institut des Arts in Abidjan. He first reached an international audience during the siege of Abidjan in 2011, when the conflict came close to his studio. Aboudia’s art takes inspiration from his personal hardships as well as from what he sees around him – merging past and present in his styles and depicting both the personal and the external. His works feature in numerous international collections including, the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. He lives and works between Abidjan and New York.
Other contemporary highlights of the sale include:
- Kemang Wa Lehulere (South African, Born 1984), Dear Hole, 2015. Estimate: £5,000 – 8,000.
- Kudzanai Chiurai (Zimbabwean, Born 1981), Ubungoma, 2011. Estimate: £10,000 – 15,000.
- Zanele Muholi (South African, Born 1972), Isililo XX, 2014. Estimate: £4,000 – 6,000.
- Joël Andrianomearisoa (Malagasy, Born 1977), Untitled. Estimate: £8,000 – 12,000.
- El Anatsui (Ghanaian, Born 1944), Human Wall. Estimate: £60,000 – 90,000.
- Chéri Samba (Democratic Republic of Congo, Born 1956), J’aime La Couleur. Estimate: £20,000 – 30,000.
- Pascale Marthine Tayou (Cameroonian, Born 1967), Untitled I. Estimate: £5,000 – 6,000.
