Rom Isichei

As Nigeria’s premiere national competition for young and emerging artists, Sterling Bank Recyclart relies upon an esteemed panel of judges to select the best work from the thousands of entries received from across the country.

Meet Olu Amoda, Rom Isichei, Deola Sagoe and Ndidi Dike, the four judges scouting for four Grand Prize winners that will receive N1,000,000 each and a chance for a solo exhibition in a Sterling Bank public park, roundabout or space in either Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Abuja/North Central.

The judges are looking for ingenuity and ability to create an original piece of art from recycled and repurposed materials. Choice of recyclable and repurposed materials aims to force artists and their audience to rethink daily choices that impact the environment.

The shortlisting has started and let’s take a moment to meet to the esteemed judges of the Sterling Recyclart competition!

Olu Amoda He is an internationally celebrated Nigerian sculptor, muralist, furniture designer, and multi-media artist whose iconic work using repurposed materials and metal expresses the very best of modern African sensibility. Amoda was born in Warri in the Niger Delta in 1959 to a goldsmith father with evidence of some subtle interdependence apparent in the art of both father and son.

His works are housed locally and internationally as part of collections in iconic art houses. Amoda has also exhibited around the world and has had his works featured at the Skoto Gallery, Museum of Art & Design in New York, Georgia Southern University, Didi Museum, Alliance Francaise, Goethe Institute, Nimbus Art Centre, 6th Biennale de L’Art African Contemporain in Dakar, World Intellectual Property Organisation [WIPO] Headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland, and with the current touring exhibition of “out of the ordinary” organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the United Kingdom.

He is Founder and Chief Executive of Riverside Art and Design Studios in Yaba, Lagos, and has taught Sculpture & Drawing at the School of Art, Design and Printing at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos since 1987. Amoda has received numerous awards including the Delta State Honor for The Most Innovative Sculptor of The Year.

An alumnus of Auchi Polytechnic, Amoda was awarded a Masters of Fine Arts from Georgia Southern University in the United States in 2009. He has worked as an Artist-in-Residence in Villa Arson in Nice, France (2000), the Bag Factory in Johannesburg, South Africa (2003), at the Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina (2006) and at the New York Design Museum (2010).

He is one of Nigeria’s bestselling artists with his works sold exclusively by the prestigious Nike Art Gallery. Rom has had seven solo exhibitions and over nine selected group exhibitions within and outside of Nigeria. He is listed in the “Who’s Who” of contemporary Nigerian art, the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington, DC and the Alfred Spinler’s Collection/Publication of Contemporary Art in Nigeria and Ghana.

A renowned conceptual artist, Rom’s practice has persistently engaged object and material exploration. He utilises the varied media of painting, sculpture, collage, and photography, with a leitmotif inextricably linked and continuously intertwined as a consequence of his sustained experimentation, self-direction, and professional development.

He is best known for his highly textured segmented faces, however due to the demand for this style he made a decision to stop producing the segmented faces so that he doesn’t devalue his clients investments. His works are investment pieces, and every year the demand for his work, as well as the price, increases.. You will notice his style due to his thick and confident strokes and high textured oil and acrylic on canvas.

Without physically touching his work, one can feel the texture. His works are featured in diverse publications and included in numerous public and private collections. In many pieces, he creates a shroud of mystery that becomes evident when viewed from a certain distance. His artistic style pulls his audience out of an armchair analysis to active participation in the creative process and as a result forcing them to make their interpretations.

Rom was born in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. He currently lives and works in Lagos. He earned an HND in Fine Arts from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria and a Post-Graduate Diploma and Masters of Fine Arts MFA from Chelsea College of Art and Design, (UAL) London.

Deola Sagoe She is one of Africa’s most celebrated and adored haute couture fashion designers. A fashion visionary with footprints across continents, Deola’s unique approach to her craft endeared her to followers and critics all over the world. She is acclaimed globally for her lively, and colorful designs.

Her authentic and globally appealing style has earned her an enviable clientele that ranges from Africa’s first ladies, to society ladies like Lydia Hearst, top model Alek Wek, and famous personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith. Using African hand-woven materials in which she brings to life a range of distinct cultures; contemporising almost-lost traditional African techniques, Deola’s designs present a unique vision and attitude for the well-rounded modern woman.

A winner of the MNET Anglo Gold African Design award, Deola was nominated by the legendary US Vogue Editor, Andre Leon Talley as one of four designers from Africa to show their work at the New York Fashion Week in 2000. She later went on to be the first Nigerian to have her own standalone show at the New York Fashion Week in September 2014.

Deola is also the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week back in 2004. She frequently exhibits her couture collection at Cape Town Fashion Week and continues to lead the way in carving a space for Nigeria on the global fashion map.

She studied Business Administration at the University of Miami and returned to Nigeria to get a Masters Degree in Finance and Management from the University of Lagos.

Deola Sagoe was inspired by her mother’s tailoring house called Odua Creations which was known for producing meticulously embroidered traditional Nigerian menswear. In 1989, she joined her mother with a view of expanding the label’s repertoire to encompass more contemporary designs for the ever developing, cosmopolitan Nigerian society. The following year, Deola began designing under her name.

Ndidi Dike She is a visual artist working in sculpture and mixed-media painting. She is one of Nigeria’s leading female artists.

Ndidi has had 10 solo exhibitions between 1986 and 2002 and 57 group exhibitions between 1986 and 2005. She has participated in exhibitions in Nigeria, Africa and internationally, including Women to Women, Weaving Cultures, Shaping History (2000), University Art Gallery, Indiana State University; Totems and Signpost, Goethe Institute, Lagos (solo), 2002 and Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa (1995), Whitechapel Gallery, London. Her works are part of public and private collections in Nigeria and abroad.

She first became interested in art as a very young child taking art classes in primary school. She completed secondary school in England, further exploring her creativity in interdisciplinary art classes.

Ndidi Dike graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a Diploma in Music Education (voice), followed by a B.A Fine and Applied Arts in 1984 (major Mixed Media Painting).

After her mandatory year in the National Youth Service Dike make the choice of becoming a professional studio artist in her home of Owerri. The artwork she created while in service was the majority of work that she put in her first solo exhibition, titled Mixed Media Expose, 1986. Dike is a member of the Guild of Fine Arts, Nigeria (GFAN), and the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA).