Art Reviews

Between Suit and Sweat Chukwudi Nwachukwu and the Portraiture of Survival – Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi & Joecollins Ezepue

What holds all four images together, and what ties The Grindster back to everything Nwachukwu has made before, is his refusal to resolve the tension he’s photographing into a verdict. These are not images asking you to pity the hustle, and they do not ask you to admire it uncritically either; they insist you notice it, the way you might notice, for the first time, effort you had walked past a hundred times without seeing. “A photograph,” Nwachukwu has said, “is more than a visual record.”

Victor Ehikhamenor’s Enchanted World: A review of Chronicles of the Enchanted World” – Olufemi A. Akinsanya

There are many more enthralling threads and brilliant analysis of Victor Ehikhamenor’s oeuvre by all the contributing writers to the 208-page book, which, in my view, is a fitting scholarly review and documentation of Ehikhamenor’s art practice to date, and marks a notable milestone in the yet unfolding journey towards his undoubted destiny, of becoming one of the most important artists of his generation, worldwide!

Ike Ude’s Visual Chronicle of Nollywood – Toni Kan

In contemplating the works of these other portrait photographers one notices, almost immediately, the constant focus on the subject, especially the face or in the case of nudes, the body, as the object of the shoot but there is a sharp shift in portraits by Ike Ude which are, as earlier mentioned, usually full length and defined by a quirky dandification, an almost colouring in of the subject into his background something Ike Ude has explained as coming from his past as a painter.

1-54 Art fair 2024: African Art Shines bright in London – Toni Kan

This year featured a rich mix of artists and galleries, both new to 1-54 and a lot of those making their returns. A diverse range of 160 artists amd 60 exhibitors from across Africa, Brazil and beyond. There were the conventional, the zany and the envelope pushers but what seemed clear was that every iteration of 1-54 Art fair is a referendum on contemporary African art

Young artists shine at Kokab’s Inspirit Art Exhibition

“At Kokab’s House of Art, we believe in nurturing creativity and encouraging young minds to express themselves,” says Mrs. Kokab Farrukh, founder and curator of the exhibition. “This exhibition is more than just a showcase; it’s an opportunity for our students to share their vision with the community, to inspire, and to spark conversations about the world around us.”