A Painting by Skepta Just Sold for £81,900
Almost £22,000 over its estimate.
A painting by acclaimed British-Nigerian rapper Skepta has just sold at auction for £81,900 GBP (approximately $94,656 USD). The piece, named “Mama Goes to Market”, went to the highest bigger at Sotheby’s, having been part of the “Contemporary Curated” sale.
The piece was originally painted by Skepta in 2020, across the space of a week. But later, it was reworked when he took it to an event hosted by Givenchy in collaboration with Chito. Here, Chito was tagging any items that people had brought along, and so – the mark of the graphic artist can be seen on the walls in the painting, along with those of fellow graphic artist Slawn and the producer and DJ Goldie. Elsewhere, the piece depicts three African women — one of whom carries a child on her back. While the pre-estimate was set between £40,000-£60,000 GBP ($46,000-$69,000 USD), it eventually sold for almost £22,000 over its estimate. Although the buyer hasn’t been made known to the public, Skepta told the Financial Times that he is hopeful that either Jay-Z or Dave Chapelle would be the one to take it home.
Marking the sale, Denim Tears has teamed up with Skepta to release a collection that “re-imagines elements of the intuitive painting through garments and textiles”. The capsule includes a t-shirt depicting the painting, and hand-painted pieces including a hoodie, long sleeve tee, jeans, and a tote, and is available for pre-order now.
Elsewhere in art news, Avant Arte just announced an upcoming collaboration with Patta and Parra.
