Ndidi Emefiele is a young painter who is subverting Western expectations of African arts. She is among the leading voices in contemporary Nigerian art. Her images show women with wide eyes protected by colorful glasses and dressed in rich fabric scraps. The work of Emefiele raises questions about gender, culture, and style.
Emefiele was born in 1987, and she has lived mostly in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Initially interested in art at an early age, her interest grew as she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Delta State University, Abraka. While still building a following in Nigeria, Emefiele attended the Slade School of Fine Arts in London for her master’s degree. To explore auctions of artists like Ndidi Emefiele and other popular artists visit today’s auction on auctiondaily.
As well as providing professional opportunities, studying abroad also sheds light on the global lack of support for women artists. Emefiele told Omenka, a Nigerian art gallery, “In Nigeria, some people may easily classify you as mediocre because you are female and likely to spend less time creating art than your male counterparts.” Her paintings are designed to counteract these limiting beliefs. She draws inspiration from Frida Kahlo, Wangechi Mutu, and Nike Okundaye when she crafts her art. Placing sun or eyeglasses on her subjects’ faces, Emefiele creates a boundary between them and the viewer: “[The glasses are] that curtain, a veil, a mask behind which she masters the art of mobility… They have become a mark of identity, but also an element of style.” Recycled compact discs make frequent appearances in her portraits.
Despite departing from Emefiele’s usual subjects, the artist maintains her signature style in the painting being auctioned. This untitled mixed media piece from 2017 shows a brown leather couch with patterned pillows. The background consists of a turquoise wall and the bottom corner of a chalkboard. The painting, although lacking a central figure, contains a motif that is more common to Emefiele’s work: two round glasses sit in the painting’s lower-right corner. A number of notable exhibitions preceded Emefiele’s entry into the global art market, including the Cape Town Art Fair, the 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, and the London gallery Rosenfeld.
Emefiele’s passage into the worldwide craftsmanship market accompanied a few eminent shows, including at the 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, the Cape Town Art Fair, and at exhibition Rosenfeld in London. Her work was most as of late highlighted in Rosenfeld’s coordinated effort with the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. The virtual show was held to observe Juneteenth 2020, just as “… African Diasporan customs of get-together, especially methods of harmony that keep up with history, culture, and custom through dynamic investment.”
Emefiele’s works of art are additionally starting to stand out in the sales world. In 2014, one of her works named Brown Rhapsody (2014) arrived at NGN 990,000 (USD 2,615) after a gauge of NGN 500,000 to ₦700,000 (USD 1,320 to $1,849). Another piece, named Summer Time, sold for NGN 715,000 (USD 1,889) in 2015 with Arthouse Contemporary Limited, a worldwide sales management firm having some expertise in West African craftsmanship. Both of these pieces showed ladies with intricate hairdos and striking eyeglasses.
As work from contemporary African craftsmen turns out to be more well-known all throughout the planet, Emefiele’s specialty is starting to accumulate a bigger crowd both on the web and among gatherers. Its visual festival of Nigerian culture fits in especially well on stages like Instagram. Notwithstanding, Emefiele trusts her works of art additionally fill in as provocative conversations on womanliness and strengthening. For the latest auctions going to be held today, see the auctions today from the auction calendar of auctiondaily.
Media Source: AuctionDaily
