east african art catalog

public sale

Kenya | Tanzania | Uganda | Ethiopia

Kivuthi MbunuMark Kassi

Jeff Wambugu

Melkamu BahiruTsegalidet Tefera

In the Fall of 2012, the Circle Art Agency commenced the first public auction ofcontemporary art originating exclusively from the East African region. Works from artistsfrom Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sudan and other regional nations were includedand sold to a range of international art collectors. The event not only marked a momentousdevelopment in the global recognition of the talents of artists from this previouslyunderrepresented region of the world but it also heralded the growing value said work isaccumulating in the international art market.

Sales in the general African and Oceanic art category increased 14 percent at Sotheby’s lastyear for a total of $41.7 million in sales, with a 71 percent increase in the number of buyersfrom 2012 to 2013. This surge in interest and financial investment extends to the East Africanart market. Though many of the elder artists are garnering the largest asking prices, theyoung artists are leading the charge to solidify the East African market for years to come.These artists are in alignment with the overall trend of Africa’s status as the youngestcontinent in the world and represent the coming onslaught of African creativity andingenuity.

With the work of East African artists rapidly growing in popularity in Africa and Europe,we are honored to spearhead the effort to spread the talents of the artists represented in thiscollection to North America. All of the pieces herein come directly from the studios of theindividual artists in their home nations. The absence of intermediate entities allows for thesale of these works at a price point that is well below that found in galleries and auctionsand provides absolute assurance to the authenticity of their provenance.

As the majority of experienced art collectors will share, it is recommended that art loversbegin their collections with art that speaks to them personally and enlivens their dailyexperience. Even greater, the knowledge that the reward from your investment can appealto personal esthetics and increase in monetary value provides for even greater opportunityand satisfaction.

Kivuthi Mbunu

Kivuthi Mbuno has established himself as one of the definitive artists inthe East African region. He represented the Kenyan pavillion at the 2013Venice Biennale and has often been chosen to represent the country inPanAfrican exhibitions.

Selftaught, Mbuno has used largely ink, color pencils and pastels tocreate a symbolic universe of animals, humans, signs of traditional lifeand huge spaces based on the stories and myths of his Wakamba people.His paintings are often noted for both the philosophy found in hissymbolic renderings of lives revolving around nature and their easyesthetic beauty.

Mbuno’s work has been featured prominently in the books AfricanExplorers 20th Century African Art by Susan Mullin Vogel andContemporary Art of Africa by Andrew Magnin and Jacques Soulillou.He has exhibited widely, in museums and private galleries across Africa,Europe and North America including the Saatchi Collection in Londonand the Center for African Art in New York.

Kenya (1947 )

Any One Have a Say

Acrylic on CanvasSize:From Artist Studio

$4500

Twiga Na Tumbil


$4500

Nyambuni Kwake (At His Home)


$4500

Mark KassiUganda (1978 )

Kassi often adds unique textures such as natural fibre to his paintings inaccordance with his esthetic background and his degree in Textiles andFabric Decoration from Kyambogo University. He is often identified asan artist that primarily paints scenes of wildlife but a review of his bodyof work reveals a good deal of experimentation with subjects, mediumsand technique.

Kassi’s work is motivated largely by the swirl of cultural values andlifestyles he finds around him. He employs both realism and abstractforms to convey the social meaning implicit in his interactions.

Mentored by the realist painter Taga Nuwangaba, Kassi has been aprimary driver of the the communal spirit displayed in the manyUgandan artist collectives formed by his contemporaries. The continuingdrive to build a sustaining and edifying artistic community will ensurethat Kassi will stay relevant in the Ugandan art community for manyyears to come.

Companionship

Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Natural FiberSize:From Artist Studio

$2

Independent

Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Natural Fiber on CanvasSize:From Artist Studio

My Best Friend

Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Natural Fiber onCanvasSize:From Artist Studio

Jeff Wambugu

Jeff Wambugu has turned his keen observations and fascinationwith the rhythms and personas of everyday Kenyan life into agripping artistic voice. Burrowing deeply within the seeminglymundane layers of life, Wambugu finds the majestic and theoptimistic within every subject. His paintings In the Market andMarket Rides have each been cited as one of the 10 most famous

Ab Woman


Femm Noir

Acrylic on CanvasSize: 22W X 26LFrom Artist Studio

$1500

Daniel Alemayehu

Though born in Addis Ababa in 1963, Daniel was based inKhartoum, Sudan where he attended painting and graphics designcourses at the Khartoum Children and Youth Palace for severalyears. He obtained a certificate in cinematography from the Masterof Fine Arts and Vocational Training Center in Addis Ababa in2002.

Noted for his unique watercolor paintings, Daniel is one of thefounding members of the Netsa Art Village and has had soloexhibitions at the National Theatre Gallery, Asni Art Village,Goethe Institute, and Asni Gallery. He has participated innumerous groupshows in Addis Ababa as well as internationally

Ethiopia (1963 )

Untitled

Watercolor on CanvasSize: 18W X 24LFrom Artist Studio

$1200

Tanzania (1953 )


$1200

Ethiopia Artists

Oil and Acrylic on CanvasSize: 20W X 28LFrom Artist Studio

$1200

Oil and Acrylic on CanvasSize: 18.5W X 22LFrom Artist Studio

$800


$800

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