07 November 2014
In the case of most western art, provenance is the key to figuring out the history of the piece: the artist, origin, and the chain of ownership or auction houses the work has previously passed through. It is an important aspect in measuring the authenticity, quality, desirability, and value of a work of art. However, when it comes to African art the traditional view regarding provenance doe...
03 October 2014
Collecting art is an art form by itself. Whether you are collecting for fun, professionally, or for investment purposes, there is no set formula on how to properly collect art. Collectors of western art may weigh the values of a piece based on the artist, provenance, rarity, and aesthetic impression as well as current trends in the art world. Yet, in the case of African art, some of ...
14 August 2014
Just a week after I moved to Chicago, I woke up to the rumble of airplanes zooming over my apartment. It was the annual Air and Water Show that my landlord had told me about. Rather than face a room full of moving boxes and half constructed furniture, I dashed out the door to see what all the fuss was about. The show was like nothing I had ever seen before. At times I was certain the...
08 August 2014
Traveling in Switzerland is ridiculously easy – a few hours on the road and you’re already in another country. I grew up in Switzerland and as a child my family traveled all the time. On one particular trip across several countries we ended up in Munich, enjoying a brunch stacked with sausages, potatoes and beer. When we were finished I helped my father count colorful Deutsche ...
22 July 2014
One time on vacation my family almost missed an international flight when Stephanie was left behind at the hotel. I sat and wailed at the airport, refusing to leave without her. My father persuaded me to board the plane, but only when he promised to have Stephanie mailed home with the fastest priority delivery service available. This was no easy feat as we were flying from Japan to Switze...
27 June 2014
COPENHAGEN, 1646Curiosity brought you here. Although it is rainy and there is a chill in the air, you came out anyway because you were compelled to act. The rickety carriage stops in front of a weathered stone building adjacent to a shadowed alleyway. This area is quiet, distanced from the rowdy market squares in the city center. The cobblestones are wet and treacherous after a rec...
06 June 2014
Deep inside the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa is the Kuba Kingdom. There, men and women work side by side to create highly symbolic cloths, known simply as Kuba cloth. The cloth is fabricated from the leaf of the raffia palm tree, the plant with the longest leaves in the world. The transformation from leaf to textile is easy to understand, but difficult to exe...
29 May 2014
21 May 2014
On a recent trip to New York coinciding with Sotheby’s contemporary art auction, I visited a gallery exhibition and came across a work of art that was refreshingly distinct. This piece, composed of aluminum and copper wire, hung on the wall like a golden tapestry interwoven with streaks of silver, red and black. Although clearly a sculpture, it mimicked the movement of cloth undulati...
20 March 2014
While sifting through the PRIMITIVE Warehouse preparing for the SPRING WAREHOUSE SALE, I find myself uncovering pieces that have left an imprint on me over many years of dealing with cultural objects. It’s funny how a particular item can transport you to a different time and place, as if the object itself is a portal into history.In the south corner of the warehouse stands a group of carved la...