13th Sep, 2023 18:00
20th Century & Contemporary Art
12
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (Côte d'Ivoire 1923-2014)
Drawings from the Légende series, thirty-four
wax crayon and ink on card
Artwork date: 2004
Signature details: each signed, dated and numbered on the reverse
Sold for R52,762
Estimated at R50,000 - R70,000
Condition Report
The overall condition is good.
Fraying along the edges of various cards.
Minor smudging in areas.
Slightly bent due to packaging.
Please note, we are not qualified conservators and these reports give our opinion as to the general condition of the works. We advise that bidders view the lots in person to satisfy themselves with the condition of prospective purchases.
wax crayon and ink on card
Artwork date: 2004
Signature details: each signed, dated and numbered on the reverse
(34)
17 x 11 cm each
Provenance:
Private collection, Côte d'Ivoire.
COLLECTOR'S NOTE
After a celestial experience in 1948, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré dedicated himself to searching for a way to preserve the knowledge of his people, the Bété and the sacred knowledge of the universe. Bouabré began collecting research in manuscripts about art, politics and religion as well as searching for knowledge in people, places, images, and sounds. His research helped him create an alphabet of 448 monosyllabic pictograms to represent phonetic syllables for his native language that had previously only been passed down orally from generation to generation.
From his goal to safeguard his culture, the artist, poet, and philosopher earned himself the reputation of being another Champollion (the linguist who discovered the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs).
In 2022, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York presented Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound, the first-ever survey of Bouabré’s work, showcasing the artist’s expansive production from the 1970s until his death in 2014.
His work, Museum of (162) African Faces is part of the Tate Modern’s Permanent Collection in London.
Bouabré’s work formed part of the Ivory Coast pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. Before that, he was also represented in the Ivory Coast Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, and in the main exhibition, The Encyclopaedic Palace, curated by Massimiliano Gioni in 2013.
The artist was invited to participate in Documenta 11 in 2002, curated by Okwui Enwezor.
In 1989 Bouabré’s work was featured in Magiciens de la Terre at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the Thierry Bruly Bouabre.
COLLECTIONS
The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the Jean PIGOZZI Collection, Geneva, Switzerland.; National Museum of Abidjan, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.; Endowment fund, Collection Agnès b, Paris, France.; François Pinault Foundation, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy.; Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands.; Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City, Mexico and the Tate Modern, London.
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Auction: 20th Century & Contemporary Art, 13th Sep, 2023
HIGHLIGHTS
Currency conversions are based on the exchange rate at the auction's start time and date. Bidders should verify the current exchange rate on the day of the sale. All invoices and payments must be made in South African Rands.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
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Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440
Over-size: Special quote
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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.
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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.
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Handling Fee
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