Modupeola Fadugba is bringing her surfaces to life; Ibrahim Bamidele's artistic explorations; and Christie’s recent collaboration with MOWAA
In our most recent editorial, we highlight the African artists who have done exceptionally well in the art market in 2023, notable art fairs, and key trends that have amplified African narratives in solo and group shows in galleries and museums.
Read about how African artists living on the continent and in the diaspora have influenced and contributed to the evolving landscape here.
“Working across multiple mediums, Ibrahim Bamidele draws inspiration from his immediate surroundings, personal experiences, and cultural perception. His paintings are primarily figurative, with elements of abstraction and realism. The subjects in his work are used to explore political, religious, societal, and everyday themes. His expressive painting style is distinguished by his use of Ankara and newsprint.”
Nigerian artist Ibrahim Bamidele talks to the Omenai team about what is possible in art, his process, and his artistic explorations.
Read more about the conversation here.
1-54 London 2023 is here!
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair has announced its return to Somerset House for the 11th consecutive year. The fair will take place from the 12th of October to the 15th of October, 2023. It will host over 60 international exhibitors, with one-third from the African continent. There are 14 galleries debuting in the London edition, with Affinity Gallery (Lagos, Nigeria) and The African Art Hub (London, UK), among others on the list. Exhibitors will present over 170 artists working across an array of mediums from painting and sculpture to mixed media and installation.
Works from established artists such as Joana Choumali, Ibrahim El-Salahi, and Soly Cissé to young and emerging artists including Josué Comoe, Anya Paintsil, and Edozie Anedu will be on view.
Christie’s Collaboration With Museum Of West African Art
The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Nigeria and Christie's are collaborating to raise funds for MOWAA and its initiatives to create a cultural ecosystem in Benin City, based on the art of the past, present and future. Kehinde Wiley, Yinka Shonibare, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Lakwena Maciver, and Victor Ehikhamenor, amongst others, have generously agreed to donate original works of art to the auction, with additional artists to be announced.
The proceeds from the sale of the artworks will support MOWAA initiatives such as the 20-acre Creative District, which includes the Rainforest Gallery, and the presentation of the Nigerian Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia in 2024, which was commissioned by the Governor of Edo State and will also be curated by Aindrea Emelife.
Artist Spotlight: Modupeola Fadugba
Modupeola Fadugba (born 1985 in Lomé, Togo) is a Nigerian multimedia artist working in painting, drawing, and socially engaged installation. Her works explore cultural identity, social justice, game theory, and the art world within the socio-political landscape of Nigeria and the greater global economy.
Fadugba employs a unique technical skill set to bring her surfaces to life, activating material science as a form of storytelling. Through the delicate burning of paper and incorporation of a variety of materials such as gold leaf, graphite, ink, acrylic, and oil, she explores the spatial composition and geometric patterns of swimming pools, experimenting with ideas of time, texture, and the tension between a work’s surface and the ideas lurking beneath.
On view:
Visions of Home: A Journey Through Nigeria - A joint exhibition of Bola Obatuyi and Olasunkanmi Akomolehin at Omenai Gallery’s inaugural exhibition in the United States. (October 6, 2023 - October 31, 2023)
Of Land, Body, and Water - Kenyan artist Jess Atieno’s first solo exhibition at Montague Contemporary. (September 7 - October 21, 2023)
Ritual Ecstasy of the Modern - Yinka Shonibare’s new collaged prints and never-before-seen editioned sculptures of African ritual masks are on sale at Cristea Roberts Gallery. (September 22 - November 4, 2023)
Courtesy of Montague Contemporary.
