ARTSPLIT sets to Auction Classic works of Yusuf Grillo & George Pemba this November

ARTSPLIT, the pioneering African art trading platform, has announced a new contemporary masters auction from November 4 to 26, featuring two iconic works by Nigerian artist Yusuf Grillo and South African artist George Pemba.

Between Life and Death (1976) by George Pemba and Eyo (1993) by Yusuf Grillo are available for Split and Lease auction.

George Pemba is a well-known South African artist known for his bold use of color, with many of his paintings inspired by his time in the hospital, where he spent much of his time drawing his surroundings, fellow patients, and doctors.

Pemba is regarded as a forefather of African social realism, and in 2004 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Ikhamanga for his contributions to art and literature.

George Pemba, Between Life and Death(1976)

Yusuf Grillo is a well-known Nigerian artist and the founding president of the Society of Nigerian Artists. Grillo is regarded as one of Nigeria’s most distinguished academically trained painters; he rose to prominence and international acclaim in the 1960s and 1970s, exhibiting a large collection of his early works.

                                                           Yusuf Grillo, Eyo(1993)

Many of his paintings incorporate elements of his western art training, combining western art techniques with traditional Yoruba sculpture characteristics. His use of blue in natural settings paintings is sometimes reminiscent of adire or resist-dye textiles used in Nigeria.

The auction will coincide with Africa’s premier contemporary art fair, ART X Lagos, where ARTSPLIT will also be hosting a satellite event ‘Art As an Alternative Investment’.

‘Art as an Alternative Investment’ seminar series in collaboration with Omenka magazine featuring some of the most notable voices in art and business including;

Giles Peppiatt: Director of Modern & Contemporary African Art at Bonhams
Ruarc Peffers: Founding Director of Aspire Art Auctions
Oba Nsugbe: Pump Court Chambers Head of Chambers and others
Oliver Enwonwu: Editor-in-Chief of Omenka magazine will moderate each panel

The ARTSPLIT app allows users to own fractions of major African artworks, also known as ‘Splits’ and keep or sell them on the app at the end of the Split Auction. The Splits allow multiple people to co-own a single iconic piece of art, a unique feature of this art platform. Users can also participate in a ‘Lease Auction’ on the app to win physical custody of these co-owned artworks for a set period.

This November auction follows the success of MOCONA, a Modern and Contemporary African Arts Auction held in July and attended by key figures in the Lagos art scene and exhibiting artists Edosa Ogiugo, El-Dragg Okwoju, & Abiodun Olaku.

The MOCONA auction, titled ‘Ode to Mastery’, featured other prominent Nigerian artists who are key drivers of the continent’s contemporary art scene: Duke Asidere and Oliver Enwonwu. 

About ARTSPLIT

ARTSPLIT is an art trading company driven by the shared goal of enhancing the investment status of African art by allowing users to co-own rare and valuable artworks on a platform that guarantees price discovery and market liquidity.

Our mission is to position African art & artists as the preferred alternative investment choice by democratizing access to iconic African art alongside developing the African art ecosystem through technology and co-ownership. We believe that in this way, we can make wealth accessible through alternative investments.

The platform (ARTSPLIT mobile app) allows its users to own fractions, also known as ‘Splits’ of major African artworks on the app and in the ‘Split Auction’ where they can either keep or sell in its secondary market to other users for profit.

These ‘Splits’ (fractions) enable multiple individuals to co-own a single iconic piece of art on the platform. Following the Split Auction, users on the app can also bid to win physical custody of these co-owned artworks for a set period via the ‘Lease Auction’ this cycle is repeated on the app as far as multiple individuals own splits of that artwork.

To find out more about ARTSPLIT, please contact [email protected] or visit www.artsplit.com

ARTSPLIT team are available to call or Whatsapp at +234(0)9088962169.

You can also call or WhatsApp their mobile at +234(0)9088962169 and follow @artsplitofficial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

ARTSPLIT can be downloaded on App Store and Google Play Store.

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