Soto Gallery presents the art of collecting

Increasingly, the Nigerian art scene is not only seeing the growth of an enthusiastic collector base on the continent, it is also seeing this base exert incredible influence on the global market for contemporary African art.

From February 9 to 22, 2023, Soto Gallery will present The Art Of Collecting. It is an exhibition of rare works by now established contemporary artists from the collections of three longtime collectors. The show will be followed by a panel discussion on the collectors’ varied approaches to collecting and the state of art collecting today from an African perspective.

According to the gallery, The Art of Collecting is aimed at showing the curatorial marvel that the modern and contemporary art of Nigeria has become. In 2019, Sotheby’s fourth dedicated auction of Modern and Contemporary African art brought in sales of $3.7 million, exceeding its pre-sale estimate. In an exciting turnout, the auction was dominated by African collectors, who accounted for 70 per cent of the total sales in the category.

“We consider the task of platforming African art practitioners inextricably linked with improving public understanding of the wider factors that shape African art practice. Thus, in addition to our exhibitions programme, we’ll be introducing a series of discussions, ‘The Art of Collecting’, which we hope will lend fresh insight into the creation and management of private collections and encourage collection practices among new audiences,” the gallery said.