Art Twenty One, the contemporary arts space in Lagos, will be presenting two artists, Olu Amoda and Gerard Quenum, at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York, from May 15 to 17.
According to a statement from Art Twenty One, the showcase will feature recent works by the Amoda and his Beninoise counterpart, Gerard Quenum, “rising masters of the contemporary arts community in West Africa”.
“The 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, coinciding with Frieze Art Fair, will hold its inaugural edition in New York this year after holding successful annual editions in London,” the statement explained.
Quenum is holding a solo exhibition at the Eko Hotel-based space in Lagos entitled, ‘Traces’, which opened on May 2 and will hold till June 11.
Amoda is a sculptor and mixed media artist who has become a leading voice of the contemporary arts community in Nigeria. He graduated in sculpture from Auchi Polytechnic, and received a Master’s Degree of Fine Arts from Georgia Southern University, U.S.A. He has participated in exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum (UK), the Museum of Art and Design (New York), Skoto Gallery (New York), Georgia Southern University (U.S.), Didi Museum (Nigeria), WIPO Headquarters (Switzerland), and Art Twenty One (Nigeria), among others. He has completed residencies at Villa Arson (France), The Bag Factory (South Africa), Appalachian State University (North Carolina), and the New York Design Museum.
His work is included in many prestigious art collections including the Newark Museum and Fondation Blachere. Amoda has taught Sculpture and Drawing at the School of Art, Design and Printing at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos since 1987. He lives and works in Lagos.
Quenum is a self-taught artist who began his practice as part of an emerging generation of artists in Benin known as Boulev’art. His recent solo exhibitions include Gerard Quenum: Rupture at the Fondation Zinsou (Cotonou), Dolls Never Die at the October Gallery (London), and The Dragon Between Two Worlds at the Museu Afro-Brasil (So Paulo). He has completed artist residencies at the Ateliers d’Allonnes (France), the Kereva Museum of Art (Finland), and the Museo Afro-Brasil (Brazil). His work is included in the collections of the British Museum, the Pigozzi Collection, the National Museum of Scotland, the Government of Benin, Galeria Bernardo Marques, the Cantor Arts Centre, the Fondation Zinsou, and the Africa Museum. Quenum lives and works in Porto Novo.