Rare abstract and ceramic works up for grabs in month-long sale

The online auction is Strauss & Co’s final sale for the year, and provides a fantastic cross-section of Southern African art from the last century, ranging from Pre-War to Contemporary. Featuring over 150 lots, the month-long sale allows collectors to browse the sale at their leisure.

An array of South African abstraction is available, from works by Christo Coetzee, who embraced the avant-garde approach of artists such as the Japanese Gutai Group, through to contemporary artists like Marcus Neustetter, now living and working in Vienna, Austria.

Says senior art specialist and head of Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg art department, Alastair Meredith: “South Africa has a wonderful history of abstract art-making, but it often feels like a little-known and sometimes under-appreciated genre within the market. This sale offers several notable abstract works.”

Among these are Kenneth Bakker’s Composition with Jasper (estimate R 5 000 – 7 000), Coetzee’s striking Red and Black Tubular Forms (estimate R 8 000 – 12 000), and Lionel Abrams’ Abstract Composition (estimate R 2000 – 3000) and Abstract Composition in Red (estimate R 4 000 – 6 000).

A strong selection of ceramic works is also evident in View/Re/View. One of Juliette Armstrong’s pregnancy aprons Ingcayi (estimate R 10 000 – 15 000) is featured in the sale. Armstrong, who lived and worked as an artist and teacher in KwaZulu-Natal, was deeply influenced by the ceramic traditions of the region and is best known for her experiments with bone china. There is also a particularly rare ceramic by Dorothy Kay titled Flora (estimate R 4 000 – 6 000) which presents a unique opportunity for collectors of Kay’s work.

A stand-out ceramic work is one of Robert Hodgins’ painted plates Skullpiece No.5 (estimate R 10 000 – 15 000). “Hodgins loved painting on ceramics. It’s a subgenre of his output that is little-known,” says Meredith. “This is essentially a small Hodgins painting and presents brilliant value.”

Other highlights of the sale include Surreal Space Composition (estimate R100 000 – 150 000) by Walter Meyer. Typically known for his Cape landscape works, this early career painting details the artist’s experimentation not only with gestural and expressionist painting, but with surrealist elements, too.

There is a large-scale abstract work (estimate R 20 000 – 30 000) by the abstract painter Thakor Patel. Born in India, Patel relocated to Zimbabwe in the 1980s where he lived and worked before moving to the United States in 2017. In 2018, Patel’s work was included in Zeitz MOCAA’s exhibition of contemporary painting from Zimbabwe, Five Bhobh.

The striking mixed-media on board work Abstract Composition (estimate R 20 000 – 30 000), by Armando Baldinelli, is another exceptional lot. Born in Ancona, Italy, Baldinelli immigrated to South Africa in 1953, initially living and working at the Carlton Hotel. He would go on to produce several large mosaic commissions for public buildings in South Africa, including Johannesburg’s Hyde Park shopping centre and O.R. Tambo International Airport.

“As Strauss & Co’s last offering of the year, and running throughout the festive season, there really is fantastic value on this particular sale,” concludes Meredith.

Strauss & Co’s November online sale opened for bidding on Monday, 11 December 2023. The auction closes in 1-minute intervals from 2pm on Monday 15 January 2024.