Olympia Auctions will hold a sale of modern & contemporary African and Middle Eastern art on 29 October 2025, featuring 66 works that chart the development of art across the two regions from early postcolonial movements to today’s leading contemporary voices.
Curated by two of London’s foremost specialists — Janet Rady, Head of Sale, and Elikem Logan, Sub-Saharan African Art Consultant- the auction brings together works that reflect a rich diversity of histories, aesthetics, and cultural narratives. Both experts will also be available to offer guidance to collectors and enthusiasts keen to explore this rapidly expanding market.
Set against a backdrop of renewed global interest in African and Middle Eastern art, seen in exhibitions such as Nigerian Modernism at Tate Modern and Kerry James Marshall’s solo show at the Royal Academy, the sale underscores the growing recognition of artists from these regions. With Frieze London showcasing more African and Arab artists than ever before and Abu Dhabi Art soon to relaunch as Frieze Abu Dhabi, this momentum is helping bring new audiences to a once-underrepresented field.
Highlights from Africa
Among the African works featured is Ben Enwonwu MBE’s Untitled (1945), estimated at £20,000–£25,000, which blends classical European technique with the vibrant realism of Nigerian life. Another key lot, Oluwole Omofemi’s I See It (£15,000–£20,000), represents a new wave of Afrocentric portraiture that celebrates Black identity. The sale also includes Lady with the Branches (£8,000–£12,000) by self-taught Nigerian artist Johnson Ocheja, whose textured figuration explores the intersections of memory and form.
Highlights from the Middle East
The Middle Eastern selection is equally compelling. Saudi artist Abdulhalim Radwi’s Untitled (Fish) (1996, £13,000–£18,000) reflects his pioneering role in shaping modern Saudi art through a blend of heritage and modernist sensibility.
LANDSCAPE. Signed and dated N. CHAURA. / 1949 lower right oil on canvas
101.3 x 152cm; 40 x 60 in
unframed
Egyptian art holds a strong presence in the sale, with Anna Boghiguian’s Untitled (from the Alexandria Series) (£4,000–£9,000), currently echoing her ongoing exhibition at Turner Contemporary, Margate. Works by Chant Avedissian (£2,500–£8,000) demonstrate his architectural influences and partnership with Hassan Fathy, while Inji Efflatoun’s ethereal watercolours (£6,000–£8,000) capture the optimism of her “white light” period after her release from prison under Nasser.
Another Egyptian master, Tahia Halim, contributes Figures on a Boat (£4,000–£6,000), a lyrical reflection of Nubian life rendered in bold colour and textured impasto inspired by both Coptic and Ancient Egyptian visual traditions.
Beyond Egypt, the sale extends to Arwa Abouon’s lightbox work Jnan Nuwarr (£1,500–£2,500), a meditation on faith and identity by the late Canadian-Libyan artist, and Nasser Chaura’s impressionist Landscape (1949, £8,000–£12,000), offering an early glimpse into the evolution of Syrian modernism.
