[...] The chart above shows the number of collectors on Artsy inquiring about works by artists who were driving sales at London’s Frieze Week fairs. Foremost among those artists is the Ethiopian painter Tesfaye Urgessa, whose contemporary takes on Cubism were a hit at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. There, Addis Fine Art sold out of the artist’s monotypes, priced at £10,000 ($14,000) apiece. On Artsy, collector interest in his work has surged dramatically over the past three years; in the first three quarters of 2021, the number of collectors inquiring about Urgessa’s work on the platform exceeded the number for the same period in 2020 more than sevenfold. The Germany-based artist is also coming off his first solo show in London, with Saatchi Yates, which closed in August. [...]
Artsy Insider: Frieze Week’s Breakout Artists
Benjamin Sutton, Artsy, October 24, 2021