By Henry Akubuiro
It’s a new beginning for Alexis Galleries for 2022. The stage is set for the eight edition of “Fate”, an annual exhibition of works created by artists who spend three weeks in residence at the upscale Alexis Galleries, Victoria Island, Lagos. The aim of the programme is to identify, nurture, mentor, promote and equip emerging artists with space, atmosphere and information that fosters newness, deviation and critical inquiry into conventional ideas.
Five artists working with oil and acrylic have been invited for the latest residency to tap into their creative depth and present the audience with works that probe and address individual space, vulnerability, social and political commentary and resilience.
Speaking on the qualities of the five artists, Mathew Oyedele, the new curator at Alexis, said Gbemileke Adekunle, negotiates the canvas space with solitary figures that are depicted with elongated and exaggerated features. Boldly exploring acrylic, he looks into the concept of individual and unshared spaces as rooms of introspection, reflection, molding and preparation.
Taking a departure from personal experiences, Peter Agbadu, he explained, invites the viewer into men’s untold stories, vulnerability and unshared struggles. His oeuvres consist of figures that are heavily layered with scribbles and doodles of loose acrylic strokes. Probing further, he also explores the intimate relationship between himself and his mother.
Ikechukwu Ezeigwe, on the other hand, confronts the viewer with satiric rendition of political elites, godfather-ism and political schemers. His figures assume animal forms to scrutinize the corrupt, greedy, callous and power-drunk attributes of politicians.
In the paintings of Mayowa Esan, large portraits of women with exaggerated eyes dominate the canvas space. Here, Mayowa seeks to draw the viewer’s attention to the eye as the window to various experiences that are embodied by women.
Interestingly, Chinedu Uzoma’s canvases are characterised by rough and coordinated impasto. Here, Uzoma seeks to engage the viewer with the emotional state of his subjects by exploring nostalgia, expectation and resilience through facial expressions.
Lending her voice to the ongoing transformation at the media briefing, the founder of Alexis Galleries, Patty Chidiac-Mastrogiannis, said, in the last few years, it had become a tradition for Alexis Galleries to begin each calendar year with a residency that nurtures and guide young and emerging artists in Nigeria, usually followed by an art exhibition that promotes the works that are created during the residency.
She noted, “This year is no different, as five artists were identified and invited to spend three weeks in residence at the gallery premises. During the residency, the artists were exposed to guidance, mentorship and talk-sessions by seasoned and established artists who spent some time with them at different intervals.
“The resulting works are, therefore, critically executed to address, interrogate and comment on social, religious, economic and political happenings.”
She described this edition as special, for it comes along with the official opening of the rebranded Alexis Galleries. “After a decade of strong existence in the Nigerian art scene, the gallery deemed it fit to expand, increase and rebrand in scope, activities and infrastructure,” said the founder.
Alexis, she added, would be adopting Down syndrome as a Non-Governmental and Not-for-profit organisation to give back to the society.
Beaming with smiles and relishing every moment, the resident artists shared their experiences at the residency, and having to mix up with likeminds. They agreed there were other takeaways from the residency.
For Agbadu, “I have learnt a lot of things. Regardless of my techniques, in one way or the other, there are stars that have influenced me. I have seen something that my next body of work will carry, that I haven’t been doing. I believe this residency affects us in many ways.”
Mayowa Esan admitted that, mixing with other artists, whom he described at “brillant”, at the Alexis residency has impacted him, for “we have been able to share experiences’’ and “we noticed that we are of likeminds, and we have decided that, hence, we are not going to be separated after living here. We are going to carry ourselves along, share opinions, ideas and opportunities. Personally, this residency has given me confidence, for I have never done a big portrait of 4 by 4 size until now. I had to stretch myself to do that, and I was impressed with myself after that.”
The curator added that the residency has actually helped the artists in different ways, “For example, I had a one-on-one with Peter Agbadu on the first work he did at the residency, encouraging him to make some shifts, which he did.
“Some of these artìsts have been stretched to some limits. The same with Uzoma Chinedu. We had to make some changes to his works here. The same thing with Mayowa, Gbemileke and Ikechukwu Ezeigwe.
“I think, from here, their next body of works will show what they have gained by interacting with each other, asking themselves questions and discussing with seasoned artists who have come here to talk to them.”
The opening date of the exhibition has been moved to 19th of February, 2021 due to the initial date’s clash with the Lagos Marathon, and it will run till 5th of March, 2022.