  Location within Lagos | |
| Established | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Location | 24, Ikoyi Crescent, 00176-0000 Ikoyi, Lagos |
| Coordinates | 6°27′50″N3°26′03″E / 6.463779°N 3.434243°E |
| Type | Art Gallery |
| Director | Oliver Enwonwu |
Omenka Gallery is a Nigerian contemporary art gallery, which represents Nigerian and international artists at its exhibition space in Lagos. [1]
Omenka Gallery was founded in Lagos in 2003 by Nigerian artist, curator and art administrator Oliver Enwonwu. [1] Enwonwu's father, Ben Enwonwu, (1917-1994) was one of Nigeria's leading, 20th-century, modernist artists. [2]
Since 2003, Omenka Gallery's programme of solo and group exhibitions has introduced new work by established and emerging Nigerian and international artists. Exhibitions, like the 2009 show, A perspective on contemporary Nigerian photography, focused public attention on developing trends in the Nigerian artworld by featuring new talents, like George Osodi (b.1974), alongside renowned masters such as J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere (1930-2014). [3] Omenka gallery also hosted 'Insanity' the first Hyperrealism group exhibition in Nigeria which featured hyperrealists like Arinze Stanley, Ken Nwadiogbu and Ayo Filade. [4] In the following decade, the gallery's programme developed its international profile, with exhibitions such as Having Travelled Far, which showcased a group of established, Europe-based artists of African heritage: Godfried Donkor (b.1964), Owusu-Ankomah (b. 1956), Manuela Sambo (b. 1964), EL Loko (b. 1950), and Ransome Stanley (b. 1953). [5] The gallery has also participated in international art fairs, including Art15 in London, [6] Art Dubai in the United Arab Emirates [1] , and The Armory Show in New York.
Abass Kelani (b. 1979)
Cedric Nunn (b. 1957)
Dominique Zinkpè (b. 1969)
Duke Asidere (b. 1961)
Ebenezer Akinola (b. 1968)
Gary Stephens (b. 1952)
Ima Mfon (b. 1989)
Joel Mpah Dooh (b. 1956)
Kimathi Donkor (b. 1965)
Nathalie Mba Bikoro (b. 1985)
Nnenna Okore (b. 1975)
Olufemi Oyewole (b. 1986)
Wallace Ejoh (b. 1966)
Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE, better known as Ben Enwonwu, was a Nigerian painter and sculptor. Arguably the most influential African artist of the 20th century, his pioneering career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of modern African art. He was one of the first African artists to win critical acclaim, having exhibited in august exhibition spaces in Europe and the United States and listed in international directories of contemporary art. Since 1950, Enwonwu was celebrated as "Africa's Greatest Artist" by the international media and his fame was used to enlist support for Black Nationalists movement all over the world. The Enwonwu crater on the planet Mercury is named in his honour.
Kimathi Donkor is a London-based contemporary British artist of Ghanaian, Anglo-Jewish and Jamaican family heritage whose figurative paintings depict "African diasporic bodies and souls as sites of heroism and martydom, empowerment and fragility...myth and matter". According to art critic Coline Milliard, Donkor's works are ""genuine cornucopias of interwoven reference: to Western art, social and political events, and to the artist's own biography".
Christopher Uchefuna Okekelisten, known as Uche Okekelisten, was an illustrator, painter, sculptor, Ig-Christopher Uchefuna Okeke.ogg, art and aesthetic theorist, seminal to Nigerian modernism.
The Nigerian National Museum is a national museum of Nigeria, located in the city of Lagos. The museum has a notable collection of Nigerian art, including pieces of statuary, carvings also archaeological and ethnographic exhibits. Of note is a terracotta human head known as the Jemaa Head, part of the Nok culture. The piece is named after Jema'a, the village where it was discovered. The Museum is located at Onikan, Lagos Island, Lagos State. The museum is administered by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The National Gallery of Modern Art, Lagos (NGMA) is a major art gallery in Lagos, the largest city of Nigeria. It is a permanent exhibition of the National Gallery of Art, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation. The gallery is located within the National Arts Theatre, at Entrance B.
Victor Ehikhamenor is a Nigerian visual artist, writer, and photographer known for his expansive works that engage with multinational cultural heritage and postcolonial socioeconomics of contemporary black lives. In 2017, he was selected to represent Nigeria at the Venice Biennale, the first time Nigeria would be represented in the event. His work has been described as representing "a symbol of resistance" to colonialism.
Chief Constance Afiong "Afi" Ekong, Lady Attah was a Nigerian artist and arts promoter.
Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon is a prince of Ake in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. He hails from the Sogbulu and Ogunfayo lineage of the Laarun ruling house of Ake in Egbaland.
Arinze Stanley Egbengwu is a Nigerian artist, activist, photographer, engineer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for creating hyperrealistic pencil drawings.
Peju Layiwola is an art Historian and visual artist from Nigeria who works in a variety of media and genre. She is listed as a "21st Century Avant-Garde" in the book Art Cities of the Future published by Phaidon Press She is currently a Professor of Art and Art history at the University of Lagos and has been described as a "multitalented artist." Her works can be found in the collection of Microsoft Lagos, Yemisi Shyllon Museum, Pan Atlantic, Lagos and homes of private collectors such as JP and Ebun Clark and the Obi of Onitsha.
ART X Lagos is an art fair in Lagos, Nigeria. It is the first international art fair in West Africa, founded and launched in 2016, and six editions have been held so far. The seventh edition of the fair will be held from 4 to 6 November 2022 in Lagos.
Ken Nwadiogbu is a Nigerian born multidisciplinary artist. He calls his method contemporealism – a fusion that is primarily centered around hyper-realism and contemporary art. In 2019, He was awarded the prestigious The Future Awards Africa and was named by Guardian Life as one of the most “Outstanding Personalities of 2019”.
Isaac Emokpae is a Nigerian visual artist, painter, and photographer. His work is defined by duality and is known for its expressionist and surrealist features.
Kelechi Amadi-Obi is a Nigerian creative photographer, painter, artist and the publisher of Mania Magazine. His work in photography and visual art has earned him international renown featuring in many international exhibitions including Snap Judgment: New Position in contemporary African Photography, International center of photography New York (2006) He has been described as one of Nigeria's groundbreaking celebrity photographers who has "helped put Nigerian photography on the world map.". Vogue calls him "a major force in the creative scene in Nigeria."
Dotun Popoola is a contemporary Nigerian artist (sculptor) who specializes in synergetic metal sculpting. He creates pieces of art works from discarded scrap metals. His works are focused on transforming trash to treasures, rubbish to rubies and waste to wealth by repurposing wastes that threaten the ecosystem.
Nengi Omuku is a Nigerian creative artist, sculptor and painter.
A bronze sculpture of Elizabeth II by the Nigerian sculptor Ben Enwonwu was commissioned by the Queen on her visit to Nigeria in 1956, and she sat for Enwonwu in London in 1957. It was completed by Enwonwu in London and exhibited by him at the Royal Society of British Artists exhibition in London in November 1957. The over life-sized statue depicts the Queen seated with her hands in her lap.
Anyanwu is a bronze sculpture created by the Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu between 1954 and 1955. It is a representation of the Igbo mythological figure and earth goddess Ani. It was created to mark the opening of the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos in 1956 and is still on display outside the museum. A life size version of the piece was presented to the United Nations by Nigeria in 1966 and is displayed in the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. Several subsequent smaller editions of the piece have since been created.
Oscar Ukonu is a Nigerian ballpoint pen artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is known for his hyperrealist portraits.
Oliver Enwonwu is a Nigerian artist, curator, art administrator, writer, and publisher. He is the founder of Omenka Gallery, and the son of Ben Enwonwu (1917–1994), a renowned Nigerian painter and sculptor. Oliver is the former National President of Society of Nigeria Artists (SNA), the professional body of visual artists in Nigeria.