NNENNA OKORE
“Ā Much of my inspiration stems from my childhood years at Nsukka, a small university town in southeastern Nigeria. As a child, I was fascinated by the social, natural, and man-made conditions in bucolic dwellings around the University campus, where I resided. Embedded within the rural landscape were evocative imageries captured by its rocky slopes, humongous ancient trees, and architectural structuresā¦
Of all the aspects of rural life that inspired me, the use of discarded objects and found materials in coping with poor economic conditions, had the most profound impact on me. It is reflected in the visual content and imagery of my works, which by virtue of these influences, celebrate the transformation of discarded materials into cultural objects, forms, and spaces; and bring a critical focus to bear on the consumption and recycling cultures in parts of Nigeria. My materials include newspapers, wax, cloth, rope, clay and sticks and I apply various repetitive and labor-intensive techniques, like weaving, twisting, sewing, dyeing, waxing and rolling, which were learned by watching villagers perform everyday tasks. These processes accentuate colors, textures and other visceral qualities of my sculptures.
Presently, I am invested in exploring forms that are inspired by intimate spaces, shelters and natural habitats. I am also interested in discovering new ways of reflecting tactile qualities and social values associated with the African fabrics, using multitudinous ceramic elements. As I continue to investigate these materials and processes from my past and present environs, I hope my works resonate deeply with, and speak to the aesthetics of people from diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences.ā
Raised in Nsukka, Nigeria, Nnenna Okore has emerged as one of the foremost artists of her generation. Her largely abstract works are inspired by textures, colors and landscapes of her milieu. Finding reusable value in discarded materials, Okore enriches her work with layers of meaning through familiar processes. Both in her home country Nigeria and the United States, she relies on the use of flotsam or discarded objects, which are transformed into intricate sculpture and installations through repetitive and labor-intensive techniques. Some of her processes include weaving, sewing, rolling, twisting and dyeing, which she learned by watching local Nigerians perform daily tasks. Most of Okore's works explore detailed surfaces and organic formations.
Nnenna Okore is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Art Department at North Park University, Chicago, where she teaches Sculpture, Spatial Art, Advanced Studio, Two and Three Dimensional Design, Drawing I, Non-western Art History and Video Art. She earned her B.A degree in Painting from the University of Nigeria (First Class Honors) in 1999, and an M.A and M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Iowa in 2004 and 2005. She has received several national and international awards and been shown in numerous prestigious galleries and museums within and outside the United States. She recently completed a 2010 summer residency in Apt, France, and was selected to participate in the prestigious 29th Sao Paulo Biennial held in Brazil.
Expanding her reach into the visual arts, she began developing her work on a theoretical level through painting and has consequently exhibited in Nigeria, United Kingdom and Belgium including two major solo exhibitions in Lagos, 2003 and London, 2007. She established the Christopher Okigbo Foundation in 2005, which is tasked with researching and preserving the legacy of Christopher Okigbo, poet (1932-1967).
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
SOLO |
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Life After, Noyes Art Centre, Evanston, IL | 2010 | |
Textile, Blanchere Foundation Art Centre, Apt, France | 2010 | |
Recovered Energies, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA | 2010 | |
Absurd Beauty, Northeastern Illinois University Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA | 2010 | |
Strings and Patterns, Viterbo University Gallery, La Crosse, WI | 2009 | |
Anyanwu, Carl A. Fields Centre Gallery, Princeton University, NJ | 2009 | |
Twisted Ambience, Chicago Cultural Centre, Chicago, IL | 2009 | |
Of Earth....Barks and Topography, Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria. | 2009 | |
Twisted Ambience, Chicago Cultural Center. | 2009 | |
Ulukububa-Infinite Flow, October Gallery, London. | 2008 | |
Moonlight Tales, Tall Grass Association, (Chicago) Park Forest | 2008 | |
Affrika West, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales | 2008 | |
Reflection: A Nigerian Experience, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York City. | 2007 | |
Sub-consciousness, Adam Hall Gallery, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois | 2007 | |
Betwixt and Between, Carlson Gallery, North Park University, Chicago | 2006 | |
Trans-figuration, Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery, Moraine Valley Community College, IL | 2006 | |
Paper to Paper, Armature Art Gallery, University of Iowa | 2005 | |
Accumulations, Arts Iowa City, Iowa City, IA | 2004 | |
Re-presented, Armature Gallery, University of Iowa | 2003 | |
Beyond the Lines, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria | 2002 | |
Metaphors, Alternative Space, Lagos, Nigeria | 2001 |
GROUP
Scratch, presented by Sakshi Gallery at Latit Kala Akademi, New Delhi India | 2010 | |
(Re-) Cycles of Paradise, UN COP16, Cancun, Mexico | 2010 | |
29th Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paulo, Brazil | 2010 | |
Textile, Blanchere Foundation Art Centre, Apt France | 2010 | |
(Re-) Cycles of Paradise, UNCOP15, Copenhagen, Denmark | 2009 | |
Common Ground, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA | 2009 | |
In Progress, Group show at Calson Tower Gallery, North Park University, Chicago, IL | 2009 | |
Trash Menagerie, Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA | 2009 | |
Paper to Pulp, Howard County Centre for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD | 2009 | |
Transvangarde, October Gallery, London. | 2009 | |
Chance Encounters, Sakshi Gallery, India | 2009 | |
Object of A Revolution, Galerie Dominique Fait, Paris. | 2009 | |
Trace/Memory, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL | 2009 | |
Afganza Africa, October Gallery, London | 2008 | |
Channel4 Art Exhibition, Channel4/Art4 Gallery, London | 2008 | |
Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, New York City, | 2008/2009 | |
Refabrication, Carlson Gallery, North Park University | 2008 | |
Clay and Fibre, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago | 2008 | |
Joburg Art Fair, (sponsored by October Gallery) Sandton Convention Center, Johannesburg, SA | 2008 | |
Trading Spaces, Binghamton University, NY, March 14-March 31 | 2008 | |
African Contemporary Art Exhibition, Dakar Biennale, Senegal | 2006 | |
Twelfth SOFA International Exposition, Chicago | 2005 | |
8th International Open Exhibition, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL. Juror, Lynne Warren, Curator at MCA | 2005 | |
Migrations, Legion Arts CSPS, Cedar Rapids, IA. Curator: Mel Andringa, Executive Director, Legion Arts | 2003 | |
Units, Legion Arts CSPS, Cedar Rapids, IA | 2003 | |
New Works, Armature Gallery, University of Iowa. Curator: Thomas Aprile, Professor of Art, University of Iowa | 2002 | |
New Energies, Nimbus Gallery and Mydrim Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria Curator: Prof. El Anatsui, University of Nigeria | 2001 |
GRANTS / AWARDS / RESIDENCIES
Artist Residency, Jean Paul Blachere Foundation, Apt France | 2010 | |
Artist in residence, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem Massachusetts | 2010 | |
North Park University Faculty Project Grant | 2008 | |
Residency at Instituto Rural de Arte Hoz del Jucar, Spain | 2007 | |
UNESCO-Aschberg Fellowship for Artists (Gruber Jez Foundation, Mexico) | 2007 | |
Red Gate Residency, Beijing, China | 2006 | |
North Park University Research Award | 2005 | |
Graduate Assistantship, University of Iowa | 2005 | |
Emma McAllister Novel Scholarship, University of Iowa | 2004 | |
Teaching Assistantship, University of Iowa | 2002-2005 | |
Valedictorian (Fine Arts), University of Nigeria | 1999 | |
First prize, UNIFEM Womenās Art Contest, Lagos, Nigeria | 1994 | |
First prize, UNICEF African Childās Day Art Contest, Mbabane, Swaziland | 1993 |
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Nigerian Art Marketā¦.says, Nnenna Okore, by McPhillip Nwachukwu, Vanguard | 2010 | |
Material Meaning, by Jessica Hemmings, Wasafiri Magazine, Issue 63 | 2010 | |
Into the Art of Africa, by Elizabeth Upper, Above Magazine | 2010 | |
Contemporary African Art Since 1980, By Okwui Enwezor & Chika Okeke-Agulu | 2009 | |
New Order, by Chika Okeke-Agulu, Arise Magazine | 2009 | |
Nnenna Okereās artā¦recycled material installation, by Jessica Kronika, The Examiner | 2009 | |
Visual Arts: 5 artists āpaperā the arts center, by Mike Giuliano, Howard County Times | 2009 | |
From Rags to Riches with Art, by Vanessa Offiong, Weekly Trust | 2009 | |
The goddess of small thingsā¦,by Victor Ehikhamenor, Next | 2009 | |
Contemporary Art Auction in Lagos, by Emmanuel Anyifite, Next | 2009 | |
Okore, Enwonwu, Onabrakpeya, Anatsui, Kentridge others in London's art auction, by Chuka Nnabuife and Emmanuel Agozino, Nigerian Compass | 2009 | |
Top African Artists in focus at first British auction of contemporary African Art, by VANGUARD Newspaper | 2009 | |
Art of Africa, by Simon de Burton, Financial Times | 2009 | |
Groundbreaking African Artists In Spotlight At First British Auction Of Contemporary African Art At Bonhams, by Julian Roup, Bonham Headline | 2009 | |
Artist to Watch: Nnenna Okore, by Katy Donoghue, Whitewall Magazine, Spring Issue | 2009 | |
Studio Visit with Nnenna Okore: Art from Discarded and Found Things, Next | 2009 | |
Using Old Materials to Put a New Face on the Museum, by Roberta Smith, New York Times | 2008 | |
Mind Openers-Women Artist in Africa, by Barbara Murray, Farafina Magazine, No 8, | 2007 | |
The Yam is King, by Obi Nwakama, Farafina Magazine, No. 7 | 2006 | |
As Dakāart Beckons, by Ugochukwu Uwaerzuoke, This Day | 2006 | |
8th International Open, Exhibition Announcement by Woman Made Gallery | 2005 | |
Chasing the Paper Trails with Vision, by Vidya Murthy, Daily Iowan | 2003 | |
Plenty Art Shows, lean Patrons, by Chukka Nnabuife, The Guardian | 2002 | |
The Metaphors of Today, by Victor Ikwele, National Interest | 2001 | |
New Energies, rebellion against the old, by Ozolua Uhakheme, The Guardian | 2001 | |
The Real Values Beyond the Tags, by Okechukwu Uwaezuoke, The Comet | 2001 |
COLLECTIONS
Jean Paul Blachere Foundation, France | ||
Indianapolis Art Center, Indiana | ||
Royal Family of Abu Dhabi | ||
Art House Contemporary Limited, Nigeria | ||
October Gallery, London, UK | ||
Channel 4, London, UK | ||
Renaissance Capital, Moscow, Russia | ||
Daraja Art Foundation, London, UK | ||
Farafina Magazine, Lagos, Nigeria | 2004 | |
Kenna and Associated Law Firm, Lagos, Nigeria | 2002-2005 |