Osodi, Okore, Dele-Kuku show at Art X Lagos

From November 4-6, 2016, Arthouse-The Space participates in the Art X Lagos Art Fair, holding at the Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos. This presentation will feature the work of contemporary artists Sokari Douglas Camp, Ola Dele-Kuku, Eva Obodo, Nnenna Okore and George Osodi spanning drawing, sculpture, photography and installation.

Arthouse-The Space is a satellite initiative of Arthouse Contemporary, West Africa’s leading auction house of modern and contemporary African art. Founded in 2007, Arthouse Contemporary aims to create awareness of the scope of contemporary art in the region, encourage international recognition towards its talented artists and strengthen the economy of its art market.

Since its inception, Arthouse-The Space has organised exhibitions of contemporary artists including Victor Ekpuk, Yusuf Grillo, Chidi Kwubiri, Eva Obodo, Emeka Udemba and George Osodi, as well as international art fairs including Art14 London.

Sokari Douglas Camp CBE creates steel sculptures that span social and political life in Nigeria. Executed with elemental forms and scraps of discarded metals, Camp highlights the energy of Nigeria’s illustrious characters. Inspired by her Kalahari heritage and broader aspects of African culture, her works have dealt with wide ranging issues facing Nigeria, from its colonial past to environmental concerns and daily interactions.

Camp studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts, earned a B.A. degree at the Central School of St. Martins and an M.A. from the Royal College of Art. Her work is held in numerous private collections including the Smithsonian Museum and the British Museum.

Ola Dele-Kuku (Nigeria, b. 1963) is a Nigerian architect whose work explores contemporary global issues in the social and cultural sphere. Kuku is fascinated by a study of proportion and creates structures that interrogate social communications and the mass media.

Ola-Dele Kuku studied at the Southern California Institute for Architecture in Los Angeles, California. In 2016, his work was featured in the first Nigerian Pavillon at the Venice Architectural Biennale.

Eva Obodo focuses on fibre and charcoal as conceptual mediums, creating reliefs and free standing works using diverse techniques including wrapping, tying and bundling. Constructing abstract forms from a collection of discarded objects, Odobo calls into question opposing cultural forces.

While nylon fibre and wrapped jute sacks reference material culture in a global context, his charcoal works allude to the fragility of natural elements. Obodo holds a BA, MFA., and Ph.D from the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He currently teaches sculpture and art education in the same university. In 2013, Obodo received the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Award.

Nnenna Okore is best known for her sculptures and installations that combine natural and discarded materials to create abstract, richly-textured forms. Working with the processes of weaving, sewing, twisting and dying, Okore is inspired by the rhythms and contours of everyday life. Her work focuses on the concepts of recycling, transformation and regeneration of forms based on observations from ecological and manmade environments. Okore is a Professor at North Park University, Chicago, where she teaches sculpture.

Okore received her BA degree in painting from the University of Nigeria and an MA and MFA degree from the University of Iowa. In 2012, Okore was the recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award.

George Osodi is a documentary photographer who explores the fascinating beauty, struggle and uniqueness of contemporary Nigerian culture. His acclaimed book Delta Nigeria – The Rape of Paradise raised awareness for environmental problems in the area and cemented Osodi’s reputation as a leading international photographer. A member of Panos Pictures, his photographs have been published in the New York Times, Time Magazine, The Guardian, The Telegraph, USA Today, The International Herald Tribune, CNN and BBC Focus on Africa, among others.

Osodi has won a number of major international awards, including the Fuji Africa Photojournalist of the Year award in 2004. His work was exhibited at Documenta 12 in Germany in 2007.