Artsy recently made a list of 10 record-setting sales and estimate-beating sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips in London this June. These two artists of African origin, Cameroonian artist Ludovic Nkoth and British-Sierra-Leonean artist Sahara Longe made this list. Below are the details of the sold works and commentary by the Artsy’s team.
Ludovic Nkoth, Identity of the Moment, 2019
£63,500 ($80,520)
(27% above mid-estimate)
Phillips
Image courtesy of Phillips.
“Cameroonian artist Ludovic Nkoth saw a second strong appearance at Phillips with Identity of the Moment (2019), which sold for a healthy $80,520 – 27% over its mid-estimate – at the auction house’s “20th Century to Now” sale.
The large-scale portrait, a tender interior scene featuring an at-home haircut, is typical of the artist’s practice. Taking cues from artists like Charles White and Kerry James Marshall, Nkoth uses vibrant colors and loose, expressive brushstrokes to create images of Black diasporic communities that draw on his own experiences of immigration and cultural dislocation.
“There are many aspects of my everyday life that make it into my paintings: my surroundings, the architecture from my present and my past, all the environments I occupy,” he told Artsy.
Beyond his nascent success at auction, Nkoth’s work has been recognized with a recent exhibition at Pond Society in Shanghai, his first institutional solo show. In May, he was included in MASSIMODECARLO’s standout presentation at Frieze New York. The gallery represents him alongside François Ghebaly and Luce Gallery.”
– Olivia Horn
British-Sierra-Leonean Sahara Longe, Self-Portrait, 2021
£113,400 ($143,750)
(127% above mid-estimate)
Christie’s
Image courtesy of Christie’s Images Limited 2023.
“One of three works with impressive results by the rising British artist Sahara Longe at auctions last month, this striking self-portrait sold for well above its high estimate of $76,206 in Christie’s 20th and 21st century evening sale in London. Featured in The Artsy Vanguard 2022, Longe has steadily been gathering renown for her striking figurative works that channel the techniques of the Old Masters into fresh, contemporary subject matter.
The sale comes at an exciting moment in the artist’s career. She was one of 10 artists commissioned by King Charles to paint portraits of the Windrush Generation, which went on view at Edinburgh’s Royal Palace in late June. And, she is currently featured in her first solo show with Timothy Taylor, which started representing her in April 2022. Titled “New Shapes” and on view through July 8th, the show is her first solo outing in the U.K. and features a stunning display of her latest body of work—vast canvases filled with stylized, geometric figures in jewel tones inspired by the people she witnesses in day-to-day life. Timothy Taylor will also show a solo presentation of Longe’s paintings at Frieze Seoul this September.
Longe is also shown by New York’s tastemaking Deli Gallery, where she had a solo show last year, and has previously shown with London’s Ed Cross Fine Art. This trio of June 2023 sales follows her auction debut in March 2022 at Phillips, when Striped Collar (2022) sold for $69,881, a striking 656% above its mid-estimate.”
— Casey Lesser
