Heralded in the 1940s as Africa’s greatest contemporary artist, Nigeria’s Ben Enwonwu, essentially founded the genre through a fusion of European and African traditions. Although politics and narrow mindsets caused him to descend into obscurity, recent discoveries of his lost works and a booming market for African contemporary art are restoring him to his rightful stature. At the height of his career in the 1940s to 1960s, he was a household name not only in Nigeria, but globally. For more than six decades, one of his bronze sculptures, Anyanwu/Awakening, has occupied a place of prominence in the lobby of the UN headquarters in New York. The bronze sculpture, inspired by the Igbo earth-goddess Ani, was a gift from the newly independent Nigeria in support of world peace and liberation of colonies. Widely acclaimed as Africa’s pioneer modernist artist and one of the greatest in the world, he is credited with laying the philosophical foundations of contemporary African art by fusing Western techniques and conventions with indigenous traditions and aesthetics.
SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA
More Stories
Joshua Baraka is Ugandan Music’s Next Big Thing
Design for Human Rights
A Landmark Exhibition Celebrating the Global Impact of Modern and Contemporary African Fashions
Seven Striking Images by Africa’s New Creative Wave
Broken Chord, Sadler’s Wells Review – Sublime Music for the Tale of a South African Choir
Kinshasa’s Street Artists Raise Issues about Globalisation and Economic Plunder
Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2023 Nominees
Lagosians will Proudly Tell You there’s No Party like a Lagos Party
If You Are Looking to Set Up an Office Remotely, South Africa has It All
Luxury Places to Stay in Zanzibar for a Memorable Vacation on the Island
Accelerating and Scaling Priority Infrastructure Development in Africa
Case Studies: Strategising for a New Era of African Trade