Head of a Listener, 2015. Bronze with brown patina, on a hardwood base.
Lot 6

Grace Wekesa (b. 1974)

Head of a Listener, 2015

Bronze with brown patina, on a hardwood base

48 × 22 × 26 cm · Edition 2 of 6

Estimate KES 1,500,000–2,200,000

Bidding

Sold

KES 1,300,000

Hammer price. Buyer's premium of 20% and VAT on the premium are added.

How bidding works

Bids · 9

  1. KES 1,300,000 Paddle 290 In the room 10:50
  2. KES 1,200,000 Paddle 493 In the room 10:50
  3. KES 1,100,000 Paddle 134 In the room 10:50
  4. KES 1,000,000 Paddle 370 In the room 10:50
  5. KES 950,000 Paddle 315 In the room 10:50
  6. KES 900,000 Paddle 184 In the room 10:50
  7. KES 850,000 Paddle 335 In the room 10:50
  8. KES 800,000 Paddle 343 In the room 10:50
  9. KES 750,000 Paddle 492 In the room 10:50

About the work

The second head in Wekesa's Listener series: a long, smooth face with closed eyes, turned very slightly to one side as if catching a sound. The patina was built up over several weeks from a dark chocolate brown at the crown to a warmer bronze at the cheek.

Condition

Excellent. Patina even and undisturbed.

Provenance

Acquired from the artist, 2015; private collection, Nairobi.

The artist

Wekesa models heads in clay and casts them in bronze in small editions, finished with brown and green patinas that she builds up over weeks. The faces are elongated and calm, with closed eyes, as if listening or asleep. Her Listener series, begun in 2014, is her best known, and the heads are rarely offered for sale.

More by Grace Wekesa