Sometimes, an artist becomes inextricably linked with a public figure, and this connection endures even after their passing. Abayomi Barber worked in Oscar Nemon’s studio in the late 1960s. Nemon, a Croatian sculptor who had fled the Nazis and settled in London, was one of the preeminent sculptors of his time. He had created numerous
We’ve created our ‘On Display’ series to give you a focused viewing experience. Each time, we’ll showcase a collection of works from a single artist in one of our upper rooms—for about a week. It’s a great opportunity to take in a curated selection of their work in an intimate setting. We’re kicking things off
The art of the surreal is fast disappearing, giving way to certainty, specificity, abstraction, and a more concrete form of storytelling. Yet, Abayomi Barber may well be Nigeria’s first—and perhaps truest—surrealist. Barber began his artistic journey sculpting and painting realistic figures, displaying an exceptional eye for detail from an early age. His transition to surrealism
Ben Osawe created this charcoal drawing in 1965 while still in England. This is one of a fairly large body of model drawings he did at the time. It’s created in a formal style of figurative portraiture. It’s easy to see his facility with the charcoal medium, his self-assurance and the elegance that would become
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
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
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
I’ve been reading M. C. Atkinson’s book, ‘An African life – Tales of a colonial officer’. Atkinson was an English colonial administrative officer in Nigeria between 1939 and 1959. The book is a memoir of his time in Nigeria, working in various districts
‘Being old is a terrible thing,’ he sighed.
Then he turned to me with a smile. ‘Yet nobody wants to die young, eh?’
‘I know,’ I replied.
He grunted as he tried to sign the artwork.
The western assumption that all cultures developed along the same stages ranging from primitive to civilized has been argued by African’s scholars to be untrue. This romantic idea was premised on Darwin’s theory of evolution
Dotting the alleys and the facades, from the rear of the westminster Abbey’s landscape, through the Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and all around London, one will find statues of great people who made Britain great.
Early African art seems to have been functional, either serving as religious symbols or decorations in the King’s palace.With the introduction of European style contemporary art, Nigerians started to experiment with art for art ‘s sake.