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Dressing a Neve Tsedek mansion for a special occasion!

Yana and Tomer Levi’s houseWorks on loan for an open day in collaboration with SOTHEBY'S Real Estate24.9.2024When choosing art for a home, it’s important to first understand the client’s personaltaste. What style do they prefer—modern or classic? Do they like figurative or abstractart? Are they drawn to vibrant colors or more subdued tones? Every detail matters whenselecting the perfect piece. Size is also crucial. An artwork that is too large canoverwhelm the space, while one that is too small can get lost. Additionally, it’s importantto consider the placement of the piece. Whether it’s on a central wall in the living roomor in a quiet corner of the bedroom, the correct placement is key to achieving the rightcombination and flow.

Africa First was founded by Serge Tiroche in 2017 as a platform to support and promoteContemporary Art from the continent. An active collector of African Contemporary art forover a decade, he decided to focus his private collecting and residency program onemerging artists from Africa and its diaspora. Africa First actively promotes the artists inits collection through its website, gallery collaborations, a lending program, digital media,an artist residency, newsletters, sponsorships, prizes and commissions, as well as variousforms of collaboration and advisory work with a multitude of institutions in the artecosystem. These activities are essential for the advancement of the artist’s profiles andultimately long-term value creation.In March 2024, START by Serge Tiroche opened a new show-room in the Jaffa FleaMarket where it showcases works from the Israeli collection as well as from the AfricaFirst collection. The multi-purpose space boasts more than 400 artworks on exhibit in anopen storage format with 25 large double sided sliding walls. Approximately half theworks are by African and Diaspora artists. The space is open daily and operates as thecompany offices and principal local storage facility and showroom. It also contains an artlibrary and a small lounge area. We advise booking viewing and/or consultingappointments. Tailored gatherings are organized occasionally, by invitation.

Simphiwe Mbunyuza (b.1989, South Africa)Simphiwe Mbunyuza, Kwele’Mimoya, Ceramic, 117x78x37 cm32,000 USD + VATSimphiwe Mbunyuza is a South African artist from Mambendeni village inthe Eastern Cape, known for his sculptural and ceramic works that exploreAfrican cultural symbolism, especially among Xhosa people. His workincorporates materials such as stoneware, leather, fabric, and steel, with afocus on richly textured surfaces and bold designs. Mbunyuza drawsinspiration from traditional techniques, such as Xhosa coiling methods forpottery, blending historical and contemporary influences to reflect hiscultural heritage. In 2022, he participated in the Africa First residency inIsrael, with exhibitions in Tel Aviv. He has also been a resident at the ArchieBray Foundation in the US and is currently exhibiting at David KordanskyGallery in Los Angeles.

Tafadzwa Tega (b. 1985, Zimbabwe)Tafadzwa Tega, Rambi, Mixed media on 2 canvases, 200x300 cm40,000 USD + VATTadadzwa Tega was born in Harare in 1985. He started making art at theage of ten, inspired by his uncle and brother, who are also artists. Tegastudied art at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, where he had his firstgroup show. Tega moved to South Africa in 2008, and thereafter joinedGood Hope Art Studios. Tega produced his first solo show for AVAGallery in Cape Town in 2012, and his second for World Art in 2014.Tega’s work can be found in several institutional and private collections,including Spier and the University of Cape Town. Recently, Tega waschosen for Nando’s Creative Exchange 2020, followed by an exhibitionat "Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival". Africa First / ST-ART presentedTega’s works with solo exhibitions at Gordon Gallery in Israel, JD MallatGallery in London and at AKAA Art fair in Paris and has placed many ofhis works in important collections in Israel and abroad.

Olumide Onadipe (b. 1982, Nigeria)Olumide Onadipe, ,Armoury of Thoughts, Mixed Media and copper wire, 176x132 cm10,000 USD + VATOlumide Onadipe is an experimental artist (self professed“adventurer”) who paints and also explores diverse plastics tocreate powerful sculptures. He graduated with a Bachelor’sdegree in Arts and Education from the University of NigeriaNsukka in 2008, followed by a Masters degree in Visual Arts &Education from the University of Lagos in 2012. Olumide isfascinated by textures and environmental themes, and expressesthis fascination through works, which he calls capricious andplayful – an extension of his artist child. He has taken part ingroup exhibitions in Ghana and Nigeria.

Moufouli Bello (b. 1987, Benin)Moufouli Bello, Vegan is She, Acrylic on canvas, 140x110 cm30,000 USD + VATMoufouli Bello’s (b. 1987, Benin) striking representations of the black Africanwoman in colorful dresses, are the result of the artist’s focus on issues ofidentity and ethnicity. While playing with endless variations of blue color, herwork emphasizes the impact of tradition, culture, and politics. Moufoulicame from the Yoruba ethnic group who tint their fabrics in color based onan indigo plant. The relation between the black skin and the blue color isaccording to Moufouli associated with freedom and home. Moufouli iscurrently representing Benin at the 60th Venice Bienalle.

Sadikou Oukpedjo (b.1998, Togo)Sadikou Oukpedjo, Mère des anges Bergé ou dieu ?, Mixed media, 135x125 cm25,000 USD + VAT

Sadikou Oukpedjo, Reflet 1 + 2, Mixed media on paper, each 100x70 cm8,000 USD each + VATBorn in Togo, in 1998, Sadikou Oukpedjo joined Paul Ahyi’s studio where heessentially worked on wood carving and assembly. In addition towoodworking, he started painting and diversifying his experiments: cementpaper, pastel highlight, chalk, colors, canvases. Upon returning from Dak’Art2014, he began a series of drawings on newsprint that consist of charactersthat are all at once human and animal which were first presented at 1:54Contemporary African Art Fair London in 2014. In 2015, his work wasexhibited for the first time in Lagos, Nigeria, in the exhibition ‘‘Platform’’,presented by Art Twenty One (ART 21) and he participated in a FondationBlachère art residency program in La Somone, Senegal. In 2016, hepresented his first solo exhibition ‘‘Anima’’, at Galerie Cécile Fakhoury -Abidjan. His work was also shown at the Fringe of the 12th Dakar Biennale in the exhibition ‘‘Unecollection particulière’’. At the end of the year, he starts a long term residency at La Vallée in Brussels,Belgium. Sadikou participated in the Africa First residency in Israel in 2018 which culminated with anexhibition at the African Studies Gallery in April 2018. Sadikou is currently representing the Ivory Coast atthe 60th Venice Bienalle.

Simphiwe Mbunyuza (b.1989, South Africa)Simphiwe Mbunyuza, Empini, Ceramic & metal, 94x60x50 cm25,000 USD + VATSimphiwe Mbunyuza is a South African artist from Mambendeni village inthe Eastern Cape, known for his sculptural and ceramic works that exploreAfrican cultural symbolism, especially among Xhosa people. His workincorporates materials such as stoneware, leather, fabric, and steel, with afocus on richly textured surfaces and bold designs. Mbunyuza drawsinspiration from traditional techniques, such as Xhosa coiling methods forpottery, blending historical and contemporary influences to reflect hiscultural heritage. In 2022, he participated in the Africa First residency inIsrael, with exhibitions in Tel Aviv. He has also been a resident at the ArchieBray Foundation in the US and is currently exhibiting at David KordanskyGallery in Los Angeles.

Collin Sekajugo (b. 1980, Uganda)Collin Sekajugo, Shadow Guard, Barkcloth and acrylics on denim, 140x110 cm24,000 USD + VATCollin Sekajugo's work engages with pop culture and the globalmainstream, critiquing biases in visual, oral, and digital cultures. Since2012, he has manipulated stock images to expose their inherentWestern-centered privilege, creating theatrical pieces that challengeglobal identity norms. His vibrant paintings and installations oftenrecast white subjects with Black protagonists, exploring themes likethe "digital plantation" and Africa's future under global corporateinterests. Sekajugo incorporates local and discarded materials,critiquing unsustainable consumption. In 2022, he representedUganda at the Venice Biennale, earning a special mention from theJury.

Wycliffe Mundopa (b. 1987, Zimbabwe)Wycliffe Mundopa, He who cats the first stone, Part 3, Mixed on canvas, 190x280 cm18,000 USD + VATBorn 1987 in Rusape, Zimbabwe. Lives and works in Harare,Zimbabwe. Wycliffe Mundopa is almost undoubtedly the mostpassionate and committed painters of the lives of women andchildren in Harare’s underprivileged neighborhoods. His worksspeak out with passion at anger, cynicism and compassion andmost of all with relentless commitment to acknowledge those toooften swept under the carpet by society. His work also becomes anopportunity to see how painfully and vibrantly women’s livesreflect the conflicts of tradition and change of life in contemporarylife in Zimbabwe, from the clash of moral codes to the economicstrain, which makes children into adults too soon. He presentspeople without adornment or judgment – the mothers, theprostitutes, the caregivers, the breadwinners, the beautiful andthe ugly, the selfish and the greedy. His exceptional skill as a draftsman brings a masterful ease to hispaintings, as well as stencil collages and spray-paint drawing/painting. It has also won him acclaim andpopularity with both collectors and critics. His works are collected and exhibited as far wide as Hong Kong,Kenya, Australia, France, UK, Germany and The Netherlands, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. In 2018,Mundopa spent 3 months at the Africa First residency in Israel, which culminated with an exhibition at theAlon Segev GAllery. In 2021 Mundopa was awarded one of the most important pan African art awards, theFNB Art Prize followed by a solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG).

Kutlo Mabua (b.1992, Botswana)Kutlo Mabua, Strangers – To the dance floor, Acrylic Aluminium Foil & Thread, 96x65 cm7,000 USD + VATKutlo Mabua is a Botswana artist who is on a journey to unearth andinterrogate “The Self”, with the ambition to further understanddisplacement and disruption of it and how it brings a sense of belongingamongst the plural and collective. He believes that everyday humaninteractions, bonds, and conversations, even those thought to beinsignificant, have the most momentous effect on the course of ourlives. He often probes the urge to explore the world and immerseshimself in human relationships that add to the man he is becoming, allthe while staying true to his most authentic identity and not losinghimself in the process. Kutlo expands his philosophy in his portraiturepieces. His intimate portraits employ the meticulous shading technique of pointillism. His works are heavilyinfluenced by the now, so every dot carries the depth of the artist’s emotions, memory, and the presentcomplexities of that particular place and time, making every art piece uniquely personal. Africa First / ST-ARTpresented Mabua’s works with group exhibitions at Gordon Gallery in Israel as well as at AKAA Art fair in Parisand has placed his works in several important collections in Israel.

Wonder Buhle (b.1989, South Africa)Wonder Buhle, Isiphandla, Acrylic on canvas, Diameter 40 cm15,000 USD + VATWonder Buhle, born in 1989 in South Africa, is a Durban-based visual artistfrom Kwa - Ngcolosi, a village that is still ruled by a chief. He started makingart as a hobby at the age of nine. He says that his mother encouraged himto explore art as a career as he used to play with charcoal from the fire anddraw stick figures on the walls of the house as a child. Wonder Buhlereceived his first formal training through the BAT Centre Artists in Residency(AIR) Program and went on to study fine art through the Velobalaapprenticeship program at the Durban University of Technology, under thementorship of Themba Shibase.

Dimitri Fagbohoun (b. 1972, Benin)Dimitri Fagbohoun, Gilded, Copper pigment on wood, 43x16x20 cm4,000 USD + VATBorn in 1972 in Cotonou, Benin. He works and lives between Paris, Brussels, and Cotonou.Coming from a Beninese and Ukrainian family, Dimitri Fagbohoun grew up in Cameroon beforemoving to France. The themes and questions he tackles reflect his journey and his history,astride the geographic and cultural frontiers, and his research is inseparable from his ownexperience and his plural identity. The series Papa was a Rolling Stone interrogates his identity,through the prism of his own Beninese origins, whether it is with the installation Till the end oftime (2013) or with the ceramic masks from the series Faces (2012). His plastic researchdevelops itself within the crossed spaces of his cultures and questions hybrids beliefs, as in thework Refrigerum (2014), an installation inside a confessional, in the video Adiyo (2016)presenting Yoruba divinatory rites, or in the Adiyo ceramic slabs (2016), made from children drawings. Evolving towards therecovery and reappropriation of the remarkable west African statuary figures in exile, he develops since 2017 a project calledRe-Collection, in which masterpieces of the African art known as classics are reproduced and staged by several craftspeopleand himself. Becoming hybrid, those forms enter into a new space of representation that integrates the significance ofrecapturing our own legacy while being part of creation and novelty.

Option Nyahunzvi (b.1992, Zimbabwe)Option Nyahunzvi, Ancestor watching over, mixed on Canvas, 174x169 cm20,000 USD + VAT

Option Nyahunzvi, Pamutambo, Acrylic and paper etching on fabriano paper, 190 x 150 cm18,000 USD + VATOption Dzikamai Nyahunzvi, born in Harare in 1992 and raised in Rusape,began sketching at a young age and works in printmaking, painting, andmixed media. His art explores the impact of technology on urban youth andcontemporary township life. He graduated from Harare Polytechnic Collegein 2015 with a Certificate in Visual Arts and Design. That same year, he wonfirst prize at Gallery Delta for his work "Homeless Migrants." In 2023,Nyahunzvi participated in a residency in Venice, co-organized by Africa First/ ST-ART, with one of his works becoming part of Ca' Pesaro’s permanentcollection.

Tiffanie Delune (b. 1988, France)Tiffanie Delune, What I learned from the Seas, Mixed media and embroidery on linen, 250x145 cm20,000 USD + VATTiffanie Delune is a Paris-born visual artist of French, Belgo-Congoleseheritage, living in Lisbon, Portugal. Expanding from an initial focus onpersonal trauma and childhood experiences, her multi-media practice isinstinctively embarking on a wandering. She weaves apparitions in dreamsand travel recollections with symbols of her mixed-race family, hints offemininity, and flux of spirituality. Navigating between her shadow self andfull of light, movement, and energy forms, Tiffanie is interested in themagic of storytelling that engages conversations and evokes emotions.Approaching her work with playfulness and an intuitive curiosity, shecreates multilayered pieces on cotton canvas, loose linen, and smallerpieces of paper; inviting for a dialogue between the scale and the subject.Letting go of any inhibitions in the choice of materials, she longs for textures, meanings, and a sense ofmemory from acrylic, pastels, and papers to glitter, threads, loo roll, keys, bags, and dried flowers. In aconflicted world that feels deeply saturated, she specializes sharing a blended, unfiltered narrative in all itsdepth and authenticity.

Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux (b. 1995, Guadeloupe)Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux, Un Souvenir lointain, Oil & acrylic on canvas, 146x114 cm30,000 USD + VATBorn in 1995 in the West Indies on the island of Guadeloupe, Elladj LincyDeloumeaux now lives and works in Paris. At the age of 8, Elladj left hisnative island for Metropolitan France with his family. It is a total change,even a physical, mental and cultural revolution. Through his works, theartist explores an open and vibrant approach to the relationship betweenpeoples and imaginations. He carries out a work of experimentation anddocumentation, focusing on heritage and symbolic images as well asAfro-Caribbean spiritualities. It focuses above all on daily life,mythologies, iconography, beliefs, religious and cultural heritage of theAfro-Caribbean landscape. Evoking a plural identity, Elladj LincyDeloumeaux tries to analyze, deconstruct and capture its fragments andcommunicating vessels. By merging found or familiar objects in the still life and painting series, the artistdelivers different levels of reading, social and historical. His work is a form of initiatory journey, areappropriation of an ancestral self that goes through a confrontation with its own darkness, beforeawakening to its own light. A passage from ignorance to self-knowledge that requires a «killing» ofillusions.All installation images are courtesy of Daniel Hanoch

Chioma Ebinama (b. 1988, USA)Chioma Ebinama, Nne (mother), Watercolor & Ink on handmade Indian paper, 170x66 cm20,000 USD + VATChioma Ebinama was born to first generation Nigerian parents and grew upin the dense Nigerian community of Maryland. Her multidisciplinary studiopractice ranges from works on paper to soft sculpture. She is interested inunderstanding the role of the African artist in negotiating therepresentations of the black female body in Western culture. Moreover, herwork explores how visual narrative and crafts create space for the fracturedsense of identity inherent to those whose histories have been obscured byAmerican and European hegemony over African history. Chioma Ebinamamakes figurative watercolors on paper to explore drawing and visualnarrative as a meditative practice and tool for self-liberation. Raised in theUnited States by Nigerian Christian immigrants, she is drawn to the aesthetic of formalized religion for itspotential to celebrate inner life. As she seeks to create new mythologies for the African Diaspora, her workis influenced by a myriad of sources, from West African cosmology, to folk art of the global South, to thevisual language of Western religion and Eastern spiritual traditions. Also prevalent is her reflection ongender and queer identities through a figurative language influenced by surrealism and her Igbo heritage.The collision of aesthetics is indicative of Ebinama’s nomadic life in recent years as she breathes the air ofMexico, South Korea, India, Malaysia and Greece.

Non-exhibited highlights from the Africa First Collection:Isshaq Ismail (b.1989, Ghana)Isshaq Ismail, Mutumin Yau (Today's man), Acrylic on canvas, 177.8 x 152.4 cm60,000 USD + VATIsshaq Ismail is a Multidisciplinary artist born in Accra Ghana in 1989. He attendedGhanatta College of Arts and Design, where he studied from 2009 to 2012. Hebegan his first portraits when he was between 19 and 20 years old. The relationshipto painting is experienced as something organic for the artist; a place of expressionand a means of escaping loneliness, art gives him comfort and autonomy in theexpression of himself. He has exhibited all over the world; USA, France,Netherlands, Germany, South Africa and his native country Ghana where hecurrently lives and works.

Kassou Seydou (b. 1971, Senegal)Kassou Seydou, Cap Skirring, diptyque, Acrylic on canvas, Diptych : 180 x 300 cm50,000 USD + VATBorn in Casamance and graduate of Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts de Dakar in 2001,Kassou Seydou participated in a two years residencies in Joal-Fadiouth, place of birthof Léopold Sédar Senghor, organized by the association ‘‘Portes et passages duretour’’. Starting from the observation that all things are scripts and that a script is adistorted line, Kassou Seydou conceptualizes it through a reproduction of constantcircular shapes. Poetic and similar to narration, the work of this Senegalese painterunveilseh his view of an altered and much more complex world : Kassou Seydouexposes a disordered world using a warm color scheme and lively characters.

Godwin Champs Namuyimba (b. 1989)Godwin Champs Namuyimba, Times of Knowledge, Mixed Media on canvas, 162 x 146 cm45,000 USD + VATBorn in Masaka, Uganda in 1989, Godwin Champs Namuyimba earned hisBFA from Kyambogo University in Kampala in 2017. He credits his formaltraining with offering a platform for his art but notes that his professionaldiscipline is largely self-taught. In 2019, Namuyimba had his first Europeansolo exhibition at Gallery Steinsland Berliner in Stockholm; since then, hehas exhibited around the world in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris,and Brussels. In recent years, paintings by Namuyimba have regularlyoutperformed estimates at auction, signaling rising demand for the artist’swork. He currently lives and works in Entebbe, Uganda.

Modupeola Fadugba (b. 1985, Togo)Modupeola Fadugba, Five Years Old, Ink and Pencil on Burned Paper, 152.4 x 152.4 cm40,000 USD + VATModupeola Fadugba (b. 1985 in Lomé, Togo. Lives and works in Abuja, Nigeria)is a multi-media artist working in painting, drawing, and socially-engagedinstallation. With a background in engineering, economics, and education, sheworks at the nexus of science, politics, and art. Fadugba works in seriesaddressing cultural identity, social justice, game theory, and the art worldwithin the socio-political landscape of Nigeria and our greater global economy.

Ablade Glover (b. 1934, Ghana)AbladeGlover,Untitled,Oilonredcanvas,102x102cm15,000 USD + VATBorn in 1934 in Accra, Ghana. Lives and works in Ghana. Trained in Ghana, theUK, and the USA, Ablade Glover has accumulated many distinctions thatunderline his significance as an artist and educator, both in Ghana and acrossthe international art scene. Glover’s work reveals his vibrant passion for life,activity and colour. Using warm impastoed pigments to express the sun andheat of his country, Glover depicts animated scenes that mirror the exuberantdiversity of Africa: its bustling market stalls, brightly attired crowds, and thedynamic energy that is Ghana. The universality of Glover’s work is reflected inthe breadth and variety of his collectors.

Aboudia (b. 1983, Ivory Coast)Aboudia, Untitled, Mixed media on canvas, 150 x 150 cm80,000 USD + VATAboudia graduated from Centre Technique des Arts Appliqués in Bingerville. In2011, his work was extensively broadcasted by the international press for histestimony of the Battle of Abidjan. This cosmopolitan artist constantly movesbetween worlds and cultures. His work draws his strength from his experiences,revealing the energy driven by the youth and the activity flow, common to everymegalopolises. Aboudia’s work has been exhibited in numerous collections andinstitutions worldwide.

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