Uzo egonu biography templates
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kó presents a solo exhibition of screen prints by Nigerian modernist Uzo Egonu (1931-1996), taking place September 18- October 7, 2021.
Uzo Egonu was a Nigerian-born artist who settled in Britain in the 1940s, where he was based until his death in 1996. Working primarily in painting and printmaking, Uzo Egonu combined references from Igbo and European cultural traditions to form a unique modernist language. Egonu’s prints are characterised by an illustrious use of color and geometric forms. This series of prints was made in the 1980s and represent the mature phase of Egonu’s oeuvre. The prints originated from the archive collection of Bernard Cook, a printmaker in London who worked with Egonu for almost a decade beginning in the 1970s. As such, these prints are “Printer’s Proof” and “Artist’s Proof” editions.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Onitsha, Nigeria in 1931, Uzo Egonu moved to Britain at the age of fourteen, and went on to study at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, L
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Artistic Insight: Layla Gatens is a recent graduate of the University of East Anglia, studying History of Art and Anthropology. Here she explores Uzo Egonu and his work, Portrait of a Guinea Girl.
| Uzo Egonu, Portrait of a Guinea Girl, 1962, Oil on Canvas |
The internationally renowned modern painter, Uzo Egonu, explored the relationship between painting and sculptural forms, fusing his western and non-western influences to evoke a different kind of modernism. Painting at a time when the anti-colonial struggle was gaining momentum, Egonu’s work came to negotiate political themes of domination, racism and oppression. No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960- 1990 feature’s a rare and exciting example of Egonu’s figurative work; Portrait of a Guinea Girl (1962).
Egonu’s Portraitof a Guinea Girl (1962) explores the artist’s nostalgic feelings towards his homeland, whilst marking a crucial
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Uzo Egonu
Uzo Egonu was born in 1931 in Nigeria and settled in England in 1945. His work embodies a post-war artistry that was stylistically cognisant of European modern art while remaining informed by his birthplace. Egonu studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, remaining linked to his homeland through the West African Students Union. After his graduation in 1952, he travelled widely to places such as Denmark, Finland, Italy and Paris. This likely introduced him to the modernist and avant-garde styles of Europe that can be traced in his work.
Egonu’s paintings recall the aesthetics of Nigeria, such as his paintings’ geometric abstractions and mask-like faces. His strong anställda style that recalls his West African heritage was drawn from memory and experience, rather than the colonial artefacts that inspired countless modernist artists associated with movements such as Cubism, Fauvism and Futurism. This arguably accounts for his work’s organic