Tribal Art Forum
Report: BRUNEAF XV
by David Zemanek
The fifteenth Brussels Non-European Art Fair (BRUNEAF), the biggest fair for non-European art, was held from October 8-12, 2004. As usual, there were many fine, interesting objects of high quality for the tribal art collector. I will focus in the following article on a few galleries that I visited. This year there was cooperation with the BAAF, dedicated to archaeology and the BOAF, dedicated to oriental arts. So it was a true event. I think this cooperation was a good idea to bundle the power of non-European Art. Because of that there were many more interesting galleries in Brussels presenting unique objects. But I myself, to be honest was focusing on African art. This time you could realize that the business was going well, many collectors from America returned and many high priced objects were sold.
So I will start with the gallery of Taylor Dale, on the Rue de Rollebeek 48. The pieces that he brought from San Franciso to Brussels were of good quality. I unfortunately fell in love with an excellent Dan mask, which came from an old South American collection. It’s a true artist piece. Another interesting object was an old 1900 Makonde piece; I think it was the handle of a longer stick. A woman stands on an elephant was an unusual but really a sensitive piece in my eyes. A Kran/Grebo mask, with a missing moveable jaw, was really expressive. There was also a fine Churinga of good stone carved quality in the gallery and many other interesting artefacts.
 |
 |
To continue, I visited the gallery of Alex Arthur. He was exhibiting fine selected artefacts from the tribal world. Of special note to me is that he was offering a special collection of heads from all over the tribal world. A fine Tetela mask that is really rare and special had my attention. Also a fine an old Sepik hook got in my eyes. The gallery was arranged in parts like a curiosity cabinet, which I felt was a good idea. I liked the arrangements. Also the Illongot shield was a really great piece that had a nice abstraction. Another highlight was a fine Songye figure, with a great presence. The German artist, Dieter Maria Scheppach from Nürnberg, was exhibiting together with Alex. His gold works were really a great addition to the show, and showed a true understanding and the passion of the artist.
There was a nice selection of artefacts at the gallery of Serge Schoffel, at the Rue des Minimes. I really like the Yoruba mask that was of the Rubin Collection, a must for every Yoruba collector in my eyes. Also he had a few important artefacts from Papua New-Guinea that were of fine quality. A Maori house post from the 18/19 century was a big piece with much power. The Epa mask in the gallery was an interesting piece from a well known Yoruba carver.
Across the street I visited Dimondstein Tribal arts, Rue des Minims 58, that came from Los Angeles and was presenting nice pieces. I really liked an old Cameroon chair that was really expressive. He had a lot of strong and expressive pieces at his gallery with a focus on Nigeria.
The gallery of Loed and Mia van Bussel from Amsterdam, Rue Saint Anne 28, showed selected artefacts from Papua New Guinea and Africa. I really liked the offered quality. A highlight was an old New-Ireland “ Lugana” mask from ancient collection around 1910; it has surreal elements with his form and colourful painting. There was also a nice Lega mask, an Admirality Island spear fork, an unusal East Africa marionette and two Ibo/Igbo masks that were really interesting in my eyes. The Ibo/Igbo mask was really nice and I liked the shape and the structure very much.
Afterwards, I entered the gallery of Kevin Conru, Rue Bodenbroek 8A. I was surprised by the very good quality that he was offering. Many nice artefacts from South Africa and the Pacific area were on show. A nice Fang torso was an excellent piece that caught my attention. I also liked the Baule figure, ex collection Charles Ratton, very excellently carved, in my opinion. I really liked the atmosphere in the gallery and Kevin Conrus taste for tribal art.
The gallery of Alain Lecomte from Paris, Rue Guénégaud had a few interesting Dan masks. A nice Dogon equestrian figure got my attention at his gallery. He had selected pieces with interesting provenance. A special and unusual Dan mask and a small group of miniature masks were very really interesting pieces in my eyes. I liked the classical pieces in his gallery.
Cécile Kerner, at Rue Lebeau 19, had a nice mix of tribal art at the Bruneaf. I really like a fine and old Lega mask, with good provenance, that she was offering. She had many good objects and pieces from the Josef Herman collection. A nice Sepik skull, From the T.Schulz collection was an interesting ethnographic piece. She showed many classical pieces that I liked. Another interesting piece was unusual Fang figure that has a unique shape.
Joel Cooner from Dallas, Impasse Saint Jacques 3, offered a nice selection of head pulleys from the E. Ansbach collection that I really liked and admired. For me a rare and nice piece was an old Bamana chiwara headrest that has an interesting reduced form. Also a group of Taino adze were good objects with age and power.
In the same house, on the front side, Caravan presented interesting artefacts from Africa. I really liked the arrangement of the South African hats, and the impression they had on me. He had also some fetish objects that had a strong presence.
Then I went to Joris Visser, Rue Lebeau 37 and 67, and visited him in his new gallery rooms where he was offering good objects. A fantastic and unique piece was an Admiralty Island figure that had a great presence and age. I really liked the quality and fineness of the piece. Other pieces that were interesting were an old Yoruba Eshu figure and a New-Ireland mask. I also liked a Marquesa Island bowl at the Gallery and a Gogodala figure, ex Paul Wirz.
A visit to Wayne Heathcote Gallery, Place du Petit Sablon 2, was really interesting. There was ancient New Caledonia figure that was really an important artefact in my eyes. I also liked the Maori war canoe prow from New Zealand, that had a touching quality.
Upstairs, in the same house, I visited Bernand de Grunnes gallery that was presenting important African objects. I liked the old and oily Songye figure, which was his centrepiece. Also a nice Tshokwe mask from Angola, a fine Pwo mask, was of a high quality.
Of course, many other galleries had pieces of good quality, and you can find further information at http://www.bruneaf.com
For me personally, the fair this year showed many pieces of good quality and importance. The sales by Christies and Sotheby and other smaller auction houses in Paris didn’t affect the fair, and the mood was quite good among the dealers. I always enjoy visiting the Bruneaf fair and Brussels; you always meet people there that share your passion and your love for tribal art.
Text and images copyrighted to David Zemanek, 2004, 2005.