Tag: nigeria

Ifeyinwa Joy Chiamonwu at Jack Shainman Gallery

Young Nigerian artist Ifeyinwa Joy Chiamonwu amazes with her photo realist style and the pleasure she takes in painting elements of Igbo tradition.  In this piece titled ‘Umunne (Siblings)’ at Jack Shainman Gallery on 24th Street, Chiamonwu depicts two of her siblings in a moment of peaceful unity as they pose together with closed eyes.  A cowry shell bracelet symbolizing prosperity and snail shells signifying abundance speak to the family’s cultural wealth.  (On view in Chelsea through Feb 19th.  Masks and social distancing required.)

Ifeyinwa Joy Chiamonwu, Umunne (Siblings), charcoal, sepia, pastel and acrylic paints on canvas, 46 ½ x 46 inches, 2021.

Namsa Leuba in ‘The New Black Vanguard’ at Aperture Foundation

Award-winning photographer Namsa Leuba points to her Swiss Guinean heritage as inspiration for a practice that takes her around the globe making images that she calls ‘documentary fictions.’  A standout in Aperture’s eye-poppingly vibrant show of fashion-related photography, ‘The New Black Vanguard,’ curated by Antwaun Sargent, Leuba’s work illustrates the show’s desire to show off ‘new perspectives…on race and beauty, gender and power.’  (On view in Chelsea through Jan 18th).

Namsa Leuba, Sarah, Lagos, Nigeria, 2015. Designers : Torlowei, Ituen Basi. Series : NGL.

Wuru-Natasha Ogunji at Fridman Gallery

Inspired by women’s lives in her parent’s native Nigeria, US born artist Wuru-Natasha Ogunji’s considers the daily task of carrying water in her video, ‘Will I still carry water when I am a dead woman?’ Featuring several masked women walking the residential streets of Lagos dragging gold-colored water containers, viewers witness the toll exacted on the bodies of the exhausted and drenched participants. (On view at Fridman Gallery through Oct 12th).

Wuru-Natasha Ogunji, still from ‘Will I still carry water when I am a dead woman?, single-channel digital video, 11 min, 57sec, 2013.

Toyin Ojih Odutola at Jack Shainman Gallery

Wealth is a provocative topic for Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola, who depicts two well-heeled fictional Nigerian families in her latest charcoal, pastel and pencil drawings at Chelsea’s Jack Shainman Gallery. Vibrant and moody, the portraits ask – as Ojih Odutola puts it – ‘what would wealth look like’ had colonialism not happened? (On view at both Jack Shainman Gallery locations through Oct 27th).

What Her Daughter Sees, pastel, charcoal and pencil on paper, 57 ¾ x 42 inches (paper), 2018.

Martin Roemers at Anastasia Photo

How do people manage to live in the world’s biggest cities? Dutch photojournalist Martin Roemers set out to answer this question in ‘Metropolis,’ a series that took him around the world to cities with populations of ten million or more. Roemer discovered that to survive is to focus on the details of everyday life, as he does in this colorful market in Lagos. (On view at Anastasia Photo on the Lower East Side through April 26th).

Martin Roemers, Oshodi Road, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria, archival pigment print on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper, 22 x 28 inches, 2015.