20 Apr Stay Safe And Inspect Those Artworks
We hope you’re safe. Who would have thought that the phrase, ‘we hope you’re safe’ would be standard greeting? But here we are. We do hope you’re safe in your homes, and our thoughts are with you. Since you’re stuck at home, this might be a good time to look at your artworks. Not just
20 Jan Onitsha and London
Uzo Egonu (1931 – 1996) An introspective, deeply private artist in his lifetime, Uzo Egonu’s reputation has grown steadily in Nigeria in the past decade or so. Part of the reason for this is the increased interest in the art of modernist pioneers like Ben Enwonwu, Abayomi Barber, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yussuf Grillo, Jimo Akolo and
10 Jan How to love your artworks
Collecting art can be the beginning of a life-long romance. And like the best romantic encounters it needs nurture and some attention. So, here are a few guidelines to always remember in this love affair. Where to hang your artwork Artworks generally need minimal maintenance once they are displayed or stored properly. Avoid direct sunlight
20 Dec Tribal
02 Oct Barber – Sculptor and Painter
Is Abayomi Barber a painter or a sculptor? Most people would say painter. His surrealist paintings are easily recognizable and have enchanted art enthusiasts for decades. Landscapes, brimming with hidden objects; incredibly detailed character studies that meld reality and fantasy. Yet Barber has always viewed himself as much a sculptor as a painter – maybe
25 Sep Kine Aw’s art
Kine Aw’s themes are inspired by the world of women in the Sahel: round forms, beauty, tradition versus modernity. Most of her paintings and sketches have a distinct cubist style, characterised by organic geometric forms. She utilizes powerful outlines in various colours to create artworks that explore the universe of women. Her art tackles
26 Jul Kaloki Nyamai – The past, the present and the future
Mr Trump, in colourful language says, we are inferior countries. We bristle. How dare he? But we also question ourselves. Might he be right? Whose fault is it? The colonialist who eviscerated our pre-colonial systems and who still treat us like indulged children? Or should we blame ourselves? Should we be hopeful? Have we been
23 Jul Sunny side up – Kofi Agorsor’s abstract canvases
The title of the artwork ‘Accumulated Wealth’ is deceptive. It’s understandable to see it as a paean to the virtues of the accumulation of riches. It is not. That’s not to say Kofi Agorsor has anything against riches. He does not. In this artwork and in many of his other abstract artworks, he views wealth
21 Jul Side by Side – Camara Gueye
The sweeper sweeps a lonely street in Dakar. It’s a hard, thankless job. It doesn’t pay him a lot. But he must earn a living. Nobody notices him. Except the man sitting at the street corner, who is probably worse off. He’s unemployed. The sweeper sweeps. The chicken gets out of the way. The job
17 Jul Papers of Freedom
My uncle, Eddy, lived in Leeds, UK for many years. He schooled and worked there before returning to Nigeria in the eighties. He didn’t burn his passport when he returned but, I suspect he vowed never to return to Leeds. He was sick of living in a foreign country where he didn’t belong. He got
28 Jun Onobrakpeya’s Musicians
Since respect for elders is all the rage at the moment, we thought we’d praise the ultimate elder, Bruce Onobrakpeya – the storyteller of Agbarha-Otor, master printmaker, probably Nigeria’s most famous living artist, and certainly the most influential over the past 5 decades. The artwork ‘Musicians’, is a rare sketch on aluminium printer’s plate done
24 May Towards Beauty – Abiodun Olaku
You might not see a link between the Niger Delta landscape and the Argungu festival in the North. But then you’re not Abiodun Olaku. Olaku is obviously one of the country’s most respected artists. He has earned his reputation the hard way or maybe the beautiful way, judging by his paintings. Olaku has worked consistently
25 Jan 2 Views of Accra
Glover’s Lorry Station It’s a scene Glover has explored consistently – the bustle at Accra lorry stations. The lorries with their crazy signs and graffiti – a raucous, moving display panel for goods and wacky ideas; the passengers getting on, getting off, always moving. As with many of his themes, he finds order and rhythm
06 Dec Stations of the Cross – Worship as style and statement
1969. Bruce Onobrakpeya would create his Station of the Cross paintings for St. Paul’s Church, Ebute Metta. He would go on to create these artworks as etchings. With the consent of the Church priest, Father Kevin Carroll, Onobrakpeya interpreted the idea of the Stations of the Cross as a local event using African characters to
17 Oct Amon Kotei – A Lightness of touch
Someone said to me a while back that he was sick of paintings of struggling African market women. Too grim. I understood. I’ve also always preferred the expression of markets and market women as something other than toil and hardship. Amon Kotei’s Accra market paintings offer us the joy and warmth of the women in
03 Oct Masters as Servants
Text for The Master’s Exhibition Catalogue 2018 by Mydrim Gallery Masters as Servants Service There are no masters here. Not in a conventional sense, anyway. These are not wondrous, other-worldly beings floating in a bubble of their success. No, these are no masters. These are servant, when you think about it. They have toiled
20 Sep ‘We say Goodbye’, Oil on canvas by Duke Asidere
There’s a teenage boy at the airport. He looks defiant, resentful, a little angry. But lurking somewhere, there’s also love and hope. His father might see these emotions or maybe not. He might just sense the anger. It might compound his own anger and despair. He might feel powerless, frustrated. They look through each other,
31 Aug Dakar – Dago, Diallo, Camara
I have been to Nairobi and Addis Ababa in the recent past. Dakar is different. Nairobi is very like Lagos – same energy and zest, a far more customer friendly version of Lagos, I suppose. Addis has a staid, old school charm about it. It feels like a city going at it’s own pace, yet
15 Aug To Commemorate Gani Odutokun’s 72nd Posthumous Birthday, I remember his Missing Masterpiece: Dialogue with Mona Lisa
Born on this day, 9th August, in 1946, Gani Odutokun is celebrated mostly for conceiving the accident and design theory, which defined the Zaria Art School in the 1980s and influenced the course of contemporary art in Nigeria. Odutokun explained the theory thus, The guiding light behind most of my work is the concept of ‘accident and