Female artists reveal stories of their nation
The common denominators of 19 artists are their gender and their native country, but the works they have created are anything but common. “Sisters: The Art of Nigerian Women” presents 42 pieces, all by natives of the most populous country in Africa.
Metal works, mixedmedia works, paintings and photographs are on display in Carnegie Gallery, on the second floor of the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library.
The exhibit was curated by artist and gallery coordinator Stephanie Rond and Chukwuemeka Ben Bosah, a New Albany resident and Nigeria native who has studied and championed contemporary artists from his homeland. He published the 2017 book “The Art of Nigerian Women,” which includes text about and photographs of the works of many of the artists in the library exhibit. The 355page book, available in The Library Store on the first floor, includes statements and images of works by 75 contemporary artists.
Each of the works on display is bold and unusual, but collectively they express the interests and concerns of the artists about their native country. Using different modes of expression, some capture daily life in Nigeria while others reference the country's history and ancestry.
Consider how some pieces present Nigerian women or children in appealingly different ways.
Frances Okala’s “Family Ties” is a rich black-andwhite acrylic on canvas portrait of two women in profile, facing one another and somewhat camouflaged against patterns of intricate designs. In contrast, Marcellina O. Akpojotor’s “The Manuscript,” a mixedmedia scene of a girl lying on her stomach while writing in a journal, is a three-dimensional piece that was created from colorful, scrunched-up swatches of Ankara fabrics.
Lilian Tchyzo Pilaku offers a vibrant abstract oil painting of five Nigerian women walking in line in “The Pageant,” while Adejoke Tugbiyele, who often presents LGBT themes in her work, is the artist behind “Mother, Mother and Child,” a graceful, threefigure sculpture created with palm spines, tin cans and ABOVE: “The Pageant” by Lilian Tchyzo Pilaku is part of the exhibit “Sisters: The Art of Nigerian Women” at the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library.
LEFT: “The Manuscript” by Marcellina O. Akpojotor At a glance
• “Sisters: The Art of Nigerian Women” continues through June 29 in the Carnegie Gallery of the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library, 96 S. Grant Ave. Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Call 614-645-2275 or visit www. columbuslibrary.org.
metallic gold thread.
Turning to a Nigerian boy is Millicent Osumuo with “Osibanjo,” a huge and attention-commanding oil portrait of a youngster carrying a box on his head, created with big brush strokes of thick paint in bold colors.
Among other mediums in the exhibit are metal and photography.
“Mama’s Wrapper
II,” by Peju Layiwola, a large, square metal mural with animal and geometric designs produced in pounded copper, is awash in archaeological themes. And in her two photographs, “Hands of Time,” Halima Idrisu Mohammed captures two pairs of aged human hands working with string. The lined, worn fingers speak of years of craft-making.
Some of the works were shipped to Columbus from Nigeria while others came from artists who are Nigerian-born but living in the United States. All of the works were for sale and all were purchased by a single, anonymous collector. They will remain on view at the library through the end of June.
In expanding on the mission of a public library, Rond said, the Carnegie Gallery has a goal to promote visual literacy. In furthering that goal, the “Sisters” exhibit offers a window into a lively culture and eclectic styles and mediums of art.