With artists of color in the critical and commercial ascendant, the 1.54 Contemporary African Art Fair continues to be a popular Frieze Week satellite fixture for collectors and their advisers. The ninth edition in London drew 47 gallerists, among them Jack Bell of London, who showed works by the American-Ivorian artist Aboudia.
Aboudia’s graffiti-influenced expressionism particularly appeals to Asian collectors, according to Oliver Durey, a director at Jack Bell Gallery. Just before the fair, the gallery sold four new Aboudia paintings online to buyers in Singapore and Hong Kong for between $80,000 and $150,000, Durey said. On Sunday, a large painting by the artist, who is based in Brooklyn, also sold for a record $275,000 at an auction in Hong Kong, according to the Artprice sales database.
