ARTSPLIT Closees Grillo, Pemba Auction with VIP Dinner 

ARTSPLIT, the pioneering African art technology platform, has closed its contemporary masters split and lease auction featuring the iconic works of Yusuf Grillo and George Pemba, with a VIP Dinner to honour the two artists in Lagos. 

George Pemba is a well-known South African artist known for his bold use of colour, with many of his paintings inspired by his moments in the hospital, where he spent much of his time drawing his surroundings, fellow patients, and doctors. Pemba is regarded as a forefather of African social realism, and in 2004 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Ikhamanga for his contributions to art and literature.

Yusuf Grillo is a well-known Nigerian artist and the founding president of the Society of Nigerian Artists. Grillo is regarded as one of Nigeria’s most distinguished academically trained painters; he rose to prominence and international acclaim in the 1960s and 1970s, exhibiting an extensive collection of his early works. Many of his paintings incorporate elements of his western art training, combining western art techniques with traditional Yoruba sculpture characteristics. His use of blue in natural settings paintings is sometimes reminiscent of adire or resist-dye textiles used in Nigeria.

Dignitaries and top personalities in the African art scene at the VIP Dinner included Ugoma Ebilah, Founding Director and chief curator at BLOOM Art; Owen Omogiafo, President and Group CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp);  Atul Chaudhary, Managing Director, Landcraft industries Ltd; Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Nigerian-based contemporary artist and curator; and Oyindamola Fakeye, Creative Director of Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (CCA Lagos).

The ARTSPLIT auction was held from November 4 to 30 featuring two iconic works; Eyo (1993) by Nigerian artist, Yusuf Grillo and Between Life and Death (1976) by South African artist, George Pemba.

The winning bidders now have physical access to the works for 24 months, and the lease value of the works are $2000 for Eyo (1993) and $1000 for Between Life and Death (1976).

ARTSPLIT is an art technology company driven by one common goal; enhancing the investment status of African art by allowing users to co-own rare and valuable artworks on a platform that guarantees price discovery and market liquidity.

Its mission is to position African art and artists as the preferred alternative investment choice by democratising access to iconic African art alongside developing the African art ecosystem through technology and co-ownership. They believe that, in this way, they can make wealth accessible through alternative investments.

The platform (ARTSPLIT mobile app) allows its users to own fractions, also known as “Splits,” of prominent African artworks on the app and in the “Split Auction”, where they can either keep or sell in its secondary market to other users for profit. These “Splits” (fractions) enable multiple individuals to co-own a single iconic piece of art on the platform. Following the Split Auction, users on the app can also bid to win physical custody of these co-owned artworks for a set period via the “Lease Auction.” The cycle is repeated on the app as far as multiple individuals own splits of the artwork.