By Lance Steagall
NEW YORK (IPS) - Landscapes are the images that come to mind when recalling the work of Richard Mayhew. The New York-born expressionist attributes this to its roots, in part African and part American.
"It is a dual commitment to nature. The land is very important to both cultures in terms of stimulation and spiritual sensitivity, and is very important to me," he said.
Mayhew's work was exhibited in the Sample Annual National Black Fine Arts.
GR N'Namdi, the oldest abstract art gallery by a black in America, representing the work of Mayhew. In 2003, his painting "Sanctuary" sold for $ 6,000. Now is priced at $ 25,000.
collectors and dealers gathered in mid-February show in New York noted the new and high prices, although many black art even low amounts are achieved.
In fact, the black American art market changes rapidly. The works are sold at higher prices, attracting more attention and becoming an investment many. While the market is booming, those who choose to invest reap the profits, often selling the paintings to a much higher price of your purchase.
"is a function of Afro-American art was ignored for long. Speaking in a relative way, the term has been extremely undervalued," said Melissa Azzi, Lusenhop Gallery in Chicago.
A Azzi likes to attribute the lack of appreciation of the attitudes of traditional art collectors. "The rebellious works tended to be ignored. But now institutions and collectors are a bit more comfortable looking back and noting" he said.
In particular, movements of the 60 and 70 that included political and social commentary into their artistic vision, as the Afri-Cobra, are re-consider. Azzi
cited as an example the portrait done in 1972 by Wadsworth Jarrell, social activist Angela Davis, entitled "Revolutionary." In this picture, Jarrell Davis shows in a moment of impassioned speech, combining socialist slogans to shape the scene.
"Struggle", "resist", "having", "given my heart" and other textual messages radiate from the vanishing point: the head of Davis. The bright colors used on putting "Revolutionary" in its cultural context. The work doubled in price last year, but, valued at $ 2,000, it is still cheap.
changing attitudes are not the only explanation for the changing market. Bill Hodges, owner of the gallery that bears his name in Manhattan, attributes this to "black Americans are able to afford an investment in art."
Hodges collects African-American art for over 30 years. Most of that time, 90 percent of their customers were non-African origin. Currently the numbers are reversed: about 95 percent of his clients are black, he said.
And the new interest is not relegated only to the black art. The Tafa artist, born in Ghana but based in New York Harlem barium is a direct witness to the evolution of attitudes.
"More and more people appreciate black art. I used to be under-represented, but now attracts the attention of both the U.S. and in Europe," he said.
In late January, the London-based Bonhams auction became the first non-South African to organize a sale dedicated exclusively to art from that country.
The art auction grossed more than $ 2.8 million. Irma Stern's works "The tomato pickers" and "Portrait of a girl from West Africa" \u200b\u200breached the highest price: about 371,000 and 275,000 dollars respectively.
Both sale prices were at almost $ 100,000 above its estimated value before the auction. In 2006, Bonhams sold a self-portrait of South African artist Gerard Sekoto - pioneer of urban black art and social realism - in more than $ 245,000, more than nine times its estimated value.
In America, the Modern Art Museum of Los Angeles County opened an exhibition devoted exclusively to African art. The exhibition, titled "Tradition and Innovation", began in January.
While typical displays emphasize the influence that African art had on modern artists who broke with tradition, like the English Pablo Picasso, this exhibition presents African art in its own context. In Sample
National Black Fine Arts, New York, Mark Small, owner of Golden Galleries, in the central U.S. state of Colorado, was quick to point out the participation of young people in the scene.
"Every time I see members of younger generations to recognize African-American artists, through most of their careers, have been largely unknown. It's really great to see that," he said.
Many of the older artists were formed in the city of Chicago. There, two schools pioneering artists gave black Americans the opportunity to study when few others did: the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Center South Side Community.
Thus, the city became a center, and many significant artists, including Wadsworth Jarrell, studied there for at least a year. The works they produced marked a turning point in the history of black art.
Today, the growing interest in the works of black artists can point to another. (FIN/2008)
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