We had a wonderful sunny opening today, with lots of visitors and interest, so I’m a happy man.
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Category: News
This week, I will be presenting my first book during Bruneaf XXIII at the gallery of Pierre Loos (Impasse Saint Jacques 17, first floor). There will be a small exhibition with the ere ibeji from the Winkel collection, together with some framed pictures. I will be signing the book on Wednesday 05/06, Thursday 06/06 and Saturday 08/06 – hope to see you there !
Among the Yoruba of southwest Nigeria, the rate of twin births is over four times the worldwide average. This fact along with a high infant mortality rate gave rise to the creation of a unique twin cult. For each deceased twin, a small carved wooden figurine, or ere ibeji, was made in which the spirit of the deceased could live on. This statuette was lovingly cared for on a daily basis and in return brought the family health and prosperity. Through the lens of Jean-Pierre Depienne and the pen of Bruno Claessens, the 32 ere ibeji from the private collection of Dos and Bertie Winkel are presented in this book for the first time. After an introductory text on the subject, the extensive variety of styles of this very particular type of African art are described in depth.
After Bruneaf, you can order the book here on the website of Dos and Bertie Winkel.
Apologies for the slow posting these last days. I assisted the famed Dutch photographer Ferry Herrebrugh this week, shooting pictures for the next Art-A catalogue (out late November).
Below, an image behind the scenes with a dramatically lit Moba figure from Amma Tribal Art.
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Appraisal Detroit Institute of Arts
Alarming news from Detroit, where the city’s $15 billion debt has led to the entire contents of the Detroit Institute of Arts being seen as a disposable asset by the city’s emergency manager. More details here and here.
Right now no one knows exactly how much the collection is worth. A rough estimate is approximately $3 billion. It is somewhat taboo to appraise publicly owned art, as there is the belief it should not be put on the market.
A statement released by the emergency manager’s spokesperson said, “While there is no plan to sell any assets, it is possible that the city’s creditors could demand the city use its assets to settle its debts. The emergency manager has alerted certain assets, including the DIA, that they might face exposure to creditors should the city be forced to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. This is a precautionary measure.”
In the meantime, choose which piece of African Art you would buy in the presentation of the Africa, Oceanica & Indigenous Americas collection here. I love their Yaka figure, but my final decision would be this Bamana figure.
UPDATE: please take note that Christie’s (Paris) is selling 14 African objects from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago next month; see lot 61-74 here – with a special mention for this important Baga headdress. Many of them were only recently donated to the museum, so I guess there were given without restrictions that would prevent a sale.
UPDATE 2: more recent news here. The objects illustrated in this post were or bought by the DIA itself or donated to the museum and thus can not be sold.