Responding to the ever-growing appetite for contemporary African art, Phillips auction house in London is offering 18 works by six emerging Ghanaian artists in a private selling exhibition.
The exhibition, Birds of a Feather, will be on display at the Phillips’ Berkeley Square headquarters next month, from 1 to 10 February. The artists exhibited are: Awanle Ayiboro Hawa Ali, Courage Hunke, James Mishio, Araba Opoku, Abdur Rahman Muhammed and Kwaku Yaro.
The show and sale is organised in collaboration with the Accra-based company Artemartis. “This initiative will serve as an inspiration to many artists in the country, as well as the continent of Africa as a whole, says Selasie Gomado, the founder of Artemartis, which is described online as an “art agency and collective” whose services include artist representation, artist management and a dealership.
“Our team works on behalf of the artists to represent, promote and sell their work,” says an online statement from Artemartis. Details of the commercial arrangement between Artemartis and Phillips remain confidential (a spokeswoman for Phillips adds that contractual details from private selling exhibitions are not disclosed).
Gomado tells The Art Newspaper that “witnessing [how] the artists work together collaboratively, motivating and encouraging each other during the process of painting their works has been wonderful, and I believe this project has set a solid foundation for more support amongst artists in Ghana.”
He adds that American, European and African collectors are acquiring contemporary Ghanaian works. “I have noticed a growing interest in collecting art from Ghanaians as well, which is amazing,” he says. Courage Hunke, one of the artists featured,, says the Phillips platform “shows more of what Ghana has to offer with [its] art… I am looking forward to more growth in Ghana’s art scene”.
Fleur Trossèl, who works for Phillips in private sales, says in a statement: “The likes of [artist] Amoako Boafo and his peers are creating ways to nurture emerging talent in Ghana, amidst its burgeoning cultural scene. Artemartis is one of these instigators and we’ve collaborated with Selasie Gomado to provide a platform to bring Ghana’s plentiful talent to an international audience. This is in response to the increase in demand for ultra-contemporary African art, as collectors are seeking to diversify their collections more and more.”
Last December, Boafo’s Hands Up painting (2018) achieved an auction record, fetching HK$26.7m ($3.4m) at Christie’s Hong Kong, demonstrating how the market is accelerating rapidly for a crop of new art market darlings from Ghana. Ibrahim Mahama, who is represented by White Cube gallery in London, is another key name in the field. Other art market commentators have meanwhile singled out overlooked African artists such as Ablade Glover whose auction record stands at £27,500 (People, 2016, at Sotheby’s London in 2019).