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Art auction with a difference to help those with HIV

The auction house, Bonhams, in London, will be conducting an auction on behalf of Chiva Africa, an organisation that promotes better healthcare for children and young people with HIV in South Africa.

But it’s not art in the traditional sense of the word that’s going under the hammer. Although Bonhams has established itself as one of the world’s top art auction houses, 30 chairs will be auctioned off.

For this online auction, Sitting Pretty, artists, designers and celebrities have come up with designs for the upholstery of these exclusively designed chairs. The designs of quite a number of South African artists have been included, among others, Sam Nhlengethwa, Norman Catherine and Beezy Bailey.

Upon enquiry, Catherine said that he is honoured to make his artistic skills available for charity. “They [Chiva Africa] do such valuable work with children and young people in South Africa. I hope people make use of this opportunity to bid on these unique chairs and in the process give a generation of young people who are living with Aids an opportunity to reach their potential.”

Catherine’s work is immediately recognisable – often with bright colours and exceptional graphic designs.

A chair designed by Norman Catherine. (Picture sup

Apart from paintings, he is also adept at graphic printing as well as sculpting. In the 1970s, Catherine collaborated with Walter Battiss on the fictitious utopia, Fook Island.

Nhlengethwa is a painter and artist who excels in collages and graphic printing. He is partial to music, especially jazz. So it’s no wonder that his design for the upholstery of a chair reflects his love for jazz – in the shape of a gramophone on the seat and a singer for the back.

Sam Nhlengethwa’s Chiva Africa chair. (Picture sup

Bailey is well known as an artist and sculptor. For his chair, he has selected a landscape that reflects in a pool of water.

The designs of artists with a South African background have also been included – among others, designs by Vanashree Singh, Kimberley Gundle and Simone Krok, as well as designs by the Zimbabwean-born Rozanne Bell, and by Porcupine Rocks.

Singh, a former Miss KwaZulu-Natal, started the VanaShree Collection, which manufactures handbags and accoutrements, including those made from crocodile, ostrich and python skin.

Gundle studied art at the Michaelis School of Arts at the University of Cape Town and has been living in London since 1988. She has been designing carpets that are knotted by hand and that are made from 100% wool or a combination of wool and silk.

After studying at Wits University, Krok studied animation and digital media in Israel and later jewellery design in Australia. She works as a multimedia designer.

Bell left Zimbabwe at the age of 40 and established herself in Dorset. She focuses especially on a contemporary interpretation of naïve art.

Porcupine Rocks is an interior studio that specialises in handcrafted products from Africa, such as baskets, ceramics and cushions, among others.

The list of British celebrities and artists includes Arsenal FC; Aston Martin; Jonny Wilkinson; Emma Vicountess Weymouth of Longleat; Victoria Baker Harber and Mark Francis Vandelli of Made in Chelsea fame; Sorapol; Daniel Lismore; Nicky Clarke and Kelly Simpkin; Maureen Lipman; Squint Limited; Dr Ranj Singh; Sinitta; Tricia Guild; Deborah Azzopardi; David Bent; Silia Tung; Samson Soboye; Giovanni Bedin and Sam Edkins.

Photos of all the chairs are available on the website. Information on the online auction is also available on this website.

People who are interested and who cannot attend the auction at Bonhams on 25 March, can make long-distance bids. Register for the auction at www.chiva-africa.org/sittingpretty.

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