Bruce Onobrakpeya, one of Africa’s art renaissance masters, was born this day, 30th August 1932. To commemorate this birthday, I look at six of his works and their interesting backstories from my favorite Onobrakpeya book, The Storyteller of Agbarha-Otor: Bruce…
Art from the Book of Ghosts: Visual Interpretations by Bruce Onobrakpeya
Bruce Onobrakpeya’s etching, Dance to Enchanting Songs (2017), one of the works that will go on the block at the upcoming Lagos Art Auction 2018 by TKMG Auction House, reminds me of how compelling his visual interpretations of literary texts…
Pictures from ‘The Masters’ Exhibition Preview by Templars
Templars, a leading commercial law firm in Lagos, in partnership with Mydrim Gallery, on Wednesday, 23 May 2018, gave us a foretaste of what to expect at ‘The Masters’ exhibition coming up on the 3rd and 4th of June 2018…
The Inspiration behind Onobrakpeya’s Adventures of Akara Ogun
Some of the most narrative artworks are those inspired by great literature. In his book, The Storyteller of Agbarha- Otor: Bruce Onobrakpeya’s Visual Tales, Dozie Igweze tells the story that inspired Onobrakpeya’s, Adventures of Akara Ogun. This artwork, The Adventures of…
‘Ominira’: Onobrakpeya’s Art in the heady years of Nigeria’s Independence
I have been reading about the art scene in the heady years of Nigeria’s independence—the art exhibitions, the new art galleries, the appearance of experimental workshops, participation in the First World Festival of Negro Arts at Dakar, Senagal. It was…
From Realism to Symbolism: Reflections on Onobrakpeya’s Veronica’s Veil
One of the best examples of the impact of contextualization is the Virgin of Guadalupe, a venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Mexico. In 1531, a Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, was said to have seen several visions of…