QUARTZ Africa | By Lynsey Chutel
The hyper-realistic pencil and ink drawings by young, unknown Nigerian and Ghanaian artists often go viral on social media. Yet, few know how to acquire their work.
The founders of an innovative new art gallery want to give talented young artists a platform to sell their work, while introducing a new generation of collectors to the growing excitement around contemporary African art. Artyrama dispenses with the intimidating white walls of a traditional gallery spacy by living completely online, allowing collectors to view and sell painting, photography and other media online.
“It doesn’t have to be pretentious,” says Artyrama director Lanre Fisher, who comes from a family of art collectors (his parents were avid collectors and his uncle was a patron of Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu).
Fisher, a business consultant, is part of a group of collectors, technologists and creatives who noticed the art world’s growing interest African contemporary art.
The buzz around African art has trickled down from the world’s well known auction houses like Bonhams to smaller buyers around the world, looking for more affordable pieces they hope will turn into an investment later, says Fisher. Most of Artyrama’s customer base are collectors outside the continent, shipping to France and Poland…read more
Image: Could e-commerce ever replace interacting with the art? (Reuters/Stefan Wermuth)