14th Feb, 2020 20:00
Aspire X PIASA | Modern & Contemporary African Art
36
Ernesto Shikhani (Mozambique 1934–2010)
Untitled
gouache and acrylic on paper
Signature details: signed and dated bottom right
gouache and acrylic on paper
Signature details: signed and dated bottom right
(1)
60 x 89 cm
Notes:
Born in 1934 in the Marracuene district, Pais Ernesto Shikhani was part of a prominent group of artists in Mozambique, like Malangatana and Chissano, who played a key role in broadening aesthetic exchange across Africa, Europe and the USA. He began to devote himself to sculpture with the Portuguese master Lobo Fernandes at Núcleo de Arte in Maputo. In 1963 he became Professor Silva Pinto’s assistant. Shikhani’s work is bold in scope, making reference to Mozambique’s artistic traditions while pushing the boundaries of formal conventions. His work is not linked to any specific style: more than its roots, there are signs of a very original and unique approach to modern and contemporary African art. Shikhani faced many obstacles, always pursuing ideals of freedom. His latest drawings and paintings show traces and colours which appear aggressive at times, but they are also vibrant and radiant. Shikhani first began exhibiting his work in 1968 in Maputo. In 1973, a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal, allowed him to produce his first international solo exhibition. In 1976, he moved to Beira, the second most important city in Mozambique, where he remained for a few years creating some of his most important large-scale public artworks and monuments, such as the bas-relief mural at the Weddings Palace that deals with Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique. Until 1979, he taught drawing at the AuditoriumGallery. In 1982 he received a scholarship to study in the former Soviet Union for six months, a move which notably contributed to his artistic progression. In 2004, Perve Galeria held a retrospective exhibition of his painting and sculpture made over forty years. The exhibition included a video documentary directed by Cabral Nunes between 1999 and 2004. This short 15-minute film addresses his work and his artistic path in a very personal manner. This is a rare document about Shikhani who was, in fact, a very shy and reserved artist. The documentary also features interviews with him and a few critics along with images of his remarkable public art. The artist passed away on 31 December 2010 in Maputo, Mozambique.
Nuno Espinho da Silva, Perve Galeria
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Auction: Aspire X PIASA | Modern & Contemporary African Art, 14th Feb, 2020
Aspire Art Auctions partnered with Paris-based house Piasa, to introduce an Africa-focused auction presenting some of the best examples of modern and contemporary art produced on this continent. This was the first time an African and European auction house partnered to present a sale of African art, in Africa, for a global audience.
The sale included 139 artists representing 27 countries from Africa and the diaspora and spotlighted key collecting segments from 20th century modernism to contemporary production and photography. The lead-lot, Marlene Dumas’ Oktober 1973 achieved a stellar R7,055,600 well above its high estimate of R3-5 million. Also on offer were some of the most in-demand African artists including Chéri Samba, Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, Gareth Nyandoro, Mustafa Maluka and William Kentridge.
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