Contemporary Art by Ibrahim Mahama and Post-War Works by American Pop Artists to Sell at Bonhams

In this upcoming timed sale of post-war and contemporary art from Bonhams, a variety of paintings, prints, wall hangings, and other works of fine art will cross the auction block. Among the top lots is an installation piece by contemporary Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. Composed of metal tags on charcoal jute sacks, this work measures ten feet across. Mahama often works with jute sacks, stitching them together and draping them over architectural elements. The sacks move through multiple countries and industries—from Southeast Asian factories to Ghanaian cocoa bean distributors—before they arrive at his studio. “I am interested in how crisis and failure are absorbed into this material with a strong reference to global transaction and how capitalist structures work,” the artist said about his favored material. The offered installation, titled DABI DABI, was shown at White Cube in London and was acquired there by the present owner in 2019. 

Also available in this auction is a signed and dated photo collage and colored pencil on panel work by American Pop artist Larry Rivers. The offered work from 1967 is rendered in muted gray and white, with the exception of a blue outline of Africa in the center. Around the continent the artist has placed images such as a human figure standing up and camels trekking across the desert. Offered from Louise Lawler is a 2008 work titled Red, Yellow and Black. Composed of silver dye bleach printed on a museum box, this figurative piece evokes the repetitions of Warhol’s screenprints. Red chains cross over repeated images of Jesus Christ. Other key artists with work in the catalog include Kathryn Andrews, Fab 5 Freddy, and Peter Triantos. For more information on the Post-War & Contemporary Art Online sale, visit Bonhams’ website.