Pilar Ordovas opens an exhibition at her Mayfair gallery titled *Dialogues: European, American, African and Oceanic Art from the 20th and 21st Centuries*, running from 9 October to 12 December. The show is a collaboration with Jean Fritts, former international chairman of African & Oceanic Art at Sotheby’s, and Pierre Mollfulleda, formerly head of Sotheby’s African & Oceanic Art department in Paris. It pairs Modern and contemporary Western works with African and Oceanic objects that inspired them, including pieces from the landmark 1984 MoMA exhibition "Primitivism" in 20th Century Art.
The exhibition highlights a growing trend: experienced auction-house specialists leaving major firms to work independently or with galleries, bringing deep expertise to focused, cross-category shows. Ordovas, herself a former Christie’s specialist, notes that this shift creates opportunities for galleries to stage exhibitions that would be difficult within the rigid structures of auction houses. The show also underscores the rising market for African and Oceanic art, which has seen record prices and renewed institutional attention, such as the Met’s new Arts of Africa galleries.