Contemporary African art, long undervalued on the global market, broke through a psychological glass ceiling last week as patrons spent over €1.9-million at a South African fair.

The Joburg art fair, touted as the first of its kind on the continent, had over 6000 visitors in three days and was declared a critical and commercial success by organiser Ross Douglas.

"We were expecting sales in the region of ten to R15-million, but we did a lot better then that," he told AFP on Monday, saying collectors had forked out more than R25-million (just over $3-million).

The cream of new and established artists from all over the continent were on display in South Africa's economic capital Johannesburg over the weekend, in a 5000m² exhibition hall where buyers could choose among pieces ranging in price from R1000 to R5-million.

The works on display were crafted in a diverse array of media as artists showed they were keen to break away from the stereotypical wooden masks and papier mache associated with African art.

A piece exhibited by the German-based Galerie Peter Herrmann, which show casts predominantly African art, appeared at first glance to be nothing but a jumbled mass of rubbish.

On closer inspection the paper, bamboo and metal odds and ends shape themselves into an amputee victim — one of several pieces inspired by social issues like African poverty, crime and war.

Others took a more global view, as one artist plastered syringes and empty medicine boxes around a portrait of United States President George W. Bush.

Douglas said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of foreign buyers, mostly from Europe, who attended the fair.

They spent much more than South African collectors, who forked out between R50 000 and R100 000 on average.

"There is a lot of opportunity for growth ... We need a bigger collecting base," said Douglas.

On the continent, he said, only South Africa has managed to establish a viable community of art collectors, and even this was in its infancy.

Gallery owner Peter Herrmann believed this was "because of an absence of a healthy middle class in many African countries".

South Africa also led the way in art education, with most of its universities boasting fine arts departments.

"South Africa (when) compared to Africa is the exception. In Cameroon, all the artists are self-educated, there are no schools for art," said Herrmann.

Seelan Sundoo, an associate at the Modern and Contemporary art gallery in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, said African artists were in dire need of exposure, hence the need for more art fairs like this one.

"We are way behind in our art scene compared to international galleries. We are behind in that our art has not been priced correctly, we're behind in terms of exposure. Our artists are undervalued."

South Africa's growing appreciation for the fine arts was due to the population's growing sophistication and a rising awareness of the investment potential, said Steven Bales, art consultant for the First Rand financial group, a sponsor of the fair.

"It is essential to educate people (elsewhere on the continent) on the financial, as well the social value of art," said Bales.

AFP