Art-at-Ouida is a walk-through exhibition space, showing accessible, contemporary artworks that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Utilising the three floors of the newly-refurbished Ouida, this exhibition takes you on a journey through the Arts. At Ouida, you are sure to find something to fall in love with.
Curator’s Note
We made it to 2022!
This year Ouida amplifies its relationships with creative individuals making great impact within the dynamic visual arts community here in Nigeria and abroad. We will invite rising, mid-career and established artists to present a selection of their best artworks as part of the “Art at Ouida” series of month-long exhibitions in Ikeja, capital of Lagos State.
Christopher Ankeli’s cityscapes depict the physical elements found in our urban environment. His bright watercolour paintings, as seen in “Apongbon Heights” and “Last Bus (Study)”, fluidly portray the busy-ness and occasional calm easily recognised by Lagosians during their daily commutes in our built environment.
On the other hand, Godstand Osimeh’s darker hued snapshots of Lagos Island are translated onto canvas and board using acrylic and oil paint. “Lagos CMS”, “CMS Lagos II” and “Blue Hour” offer vivid likeness of the great buildings, landmarks as well as the familiar hustle and bustle found in the Central Business District of Lagos. It is easy to spot The Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, the adjacent traffic lights, yellow buses, red BRT buses and other characteristics of Lagos amidst the empty roads and blurred human figures. You are there already!
Seun Alli
Curator and Founder, JCAA
Despite their different mediums, Godstand and Christopher are able to intersect their artistic values with the physical elements peculiar to the city they both live and work in.
Mary Onidare’s figurative depictions found in “Baba Oloye” and “Long Wait” series invite us to significantly engage with the subjects and even invest in their personas even though their facial expressions are nonexistent. Her impasto style of painting is also very vibrant; adding a three-dimensional and participatory perspective to her works as seen in “Bivouacking” and “What We Don’t See” and “Let There Be Light II (Study)”. The dominance of light in all her paintings is controlled with the thick application of occasional bright colours with a palette knife.
We hope you enjoy the in-person and online presentations as much as we have enjoyed putting it all together. Your engagement each month will be an invaluable source of inspiration, criticism and support. Visit the website and various social media platforms to keep us on our toes as that’s where we also intend to be.
