Pharrell Williams' auction platform JOOPITER has unveiled its newest sale, “The Contemporary Take: Black Vanguard,” with a focus on celebrating artists from across Africa.
The announcement positions the sale as a dedicated showcase for African creative voices that operate in the contemporary art space.
Launched by Pharrell, JOOPITER has built its identity around curated, culturally driven sales that push beyond traditional auction house conventions. Black Vanguard continues that approach by centering a region whose artists have gained significant global attention in recent years.
According to Dscene, the sale was developed with Ghanian art historian Elikem Logan.
Pharrell’s auction house has had a huge year to start 2026. In April, the house announced that it had sold a 66-million-year-old skeleton of a young triceratops for a whopping $5.5 million. The triceratops, named “Trey,” was dated to the Late Cretaceous period and was excavated from the Lance Formation near Lusk, Wyoming, in 1993.
The sale came with documentation, including the original fossil lease agreement with the landowner.
In an interview with Artnet about the success of JOOPITER, the firm’s global head of sales, Caitlin Donovan, explained the secret to success.
“We understand current culture,” said Donovan. “We understand how to sell to our global collectors in a really meaningful way, maybe more so than the more traditional houses.”
In its inaugural collection of Pharrell’s items from 2022, JOOPITER earned more than $5.25 million.
