Ekene Emeka-Maduka (born 1996) is a Canadian-Nigerian contemporary artist, whose work draws on her Nigerian heritage and is known for its use of self-portraiture.
Emeka-Maduka was born in Nigeria in 1996, [1] to her interior designer mother and architect father. [2] [3] She was raised in Kano, Nigeria. [2] She completed her Bachelor of Arts from University of Manitoba. [4] Emeka-Maduka has said that her experience living in Nigeria has a major influence on her work. [3] Her work includes themes of displacement and reconstructing identity, [4] and she is often the subject of her paintings. [5] Another recurring element of her work is the eye contact her subjects hold with the viewer of her paintings. [6] She is based in Winnipeg, Canada. [2] [7]
What is A Dream - Mirror Mirror Online Gallery (2020). [8]
Walk Back Home - La Maison des Artistes Visuels Francophones, Winnipeg, Canada (2020). [9]
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK (2020). [10] [11] [12]
Gather - Flux Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada (2018). [13]
Liminality in Infinite space - African Artists Foundation, Lagos (2020). [14] [15]
There, Here, Nowhere: Dwelling At The Edge Of The World - Kanbi Contemporary & The Koppel Project, curated by Adeola Arthur Ayoola, London (2020). [16] [17]
1-54 London 2020 will showcase the work of more than 110 emerging and established artists from Africa and its diaspora, working in a wide variety of mediums and from a range of geographical backgrounds. Three solo exhibitions have been announced: DuduBloom More (Berman Contemporary), Anya Paintsil (Ed Cross Fine Art) and Ekene Maduka (Polartics).
Polartics, a young Nigerian gallery and first-timer at the fair, found buyers for all eight paintings it brought by the Nigerian-Canadian painter Ekene Emeka-Maduka. The works, which range in price from £3,000 ($3,800) for smaller circular canvases to £12,000 ($15,500) for larger ones, are part of a series called "St. Agnes" depicting the artist's experience at an all-girls' Catholic boarding school in Nigeria.
Its solo show of paintings of life at the Catholic boarding school St Agnes by the Canadian-Nigerian artist Ekene Emeka Maduka almost sold out within the first two hours (prices range from £3,000 to £10,000).