KANBI PROJECTS
Kanbi Projects is an independent London-based practice that runs an innovative and multi-faceted exhibition programme focusing on contemporary art by artists of African descent on the continent and in the diaspora. Founded in 2017 as a nomadic curatorial practice, the project pivoted in 2020 to champion a small group of exceptional emerging and mid-career artists. Adopting a collaborative ethos with its cohort of artists and partners, Kanbi Projects seeks to facilitate the dissemination of artistic research and diverse practices addressing relevant social issues of the Black lived experience. In addition to its exhibition programme, Kanbi Projects publishes archival resources, host events and participates in selected art fairs.
VISIT GALLERY ON ARTSY ︎︎︎
ARTISTS
AUSTIN UZOR
CHUKWUDUBEM UKAIGWE
DAVID OLATOYE
GBOLAHAN AYOOLA
CHUKWUDUBEM UKAIGWE
DAVID OLATOYE
GBOLAHAN AYOOLA
AUSTIN UZOR
In 2016, Austin Uzor migrated to the US and is now a visiting Assistant Professor of Painting at Alfred University New York. His American experience is the subject of his recent work, which focuses on the trauma of displacement. He transforms the familiar images of family and friends to vividly rendered paintings.
Uzor has exhibited at Band of Vices in Los Angeles, Kanbi Projects x The Kopel Project in London, Rele Gallery in Lagos, 33 Contemporary in Chicago and Fort Works Art in Texas. He was born in Imo State in 1991 and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2013 from the University of Nigeria Nsukka with a major in drawing and painting.
Uzor has exhibited at Band of Vices in Los Angeles, Kanbi Projects x The Kopel Project in London, Rele Gallery in Lagos, 33 Contemporary in Chicago and Fort Works Art in Texas. He was born in Imo State in 1991 and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2013 from the University of Nigeria Nsukka with a major in drawing and painting.
CHUKWUDUBEM UKAIGWE
Power Play 1, 2022, Photo Painting Photo Gel Transfers and Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 13 x 22 cm
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Chukwudubem Ukaigwe is an interdisciplinary artist who consciously uses a variety of mediums to relay a plurality of ideas. In his figurative paintings, Ukaigwe presents the figure(s) in his composition in specific and diverse scenarios, paying attention to contemporary fashion, gazes and narratives. His practice is involved in the discourse of semiotics and modes of perception with the use of specific mediums to create alternate and multiple realities interacting with each other.
Ukaigwe has exhibited at Jeffery Deitch, Los Angeles, Kanbi Projects in Collaboration with The Koppel Project in London, DADA Gallery, London and ADA Contemporary, Accra. He received the 2020 Scott Leroux Fund for Media Arts Exploration.
Ukaigwe has exhibited at Jeffery Deitch, Los Angeles, Kanbi Projects in Collaboration with The Koppel Project in London, DADA Gallery, London and ADA Contemporary, Accra. He received the 2020 Scott Leroux Fund for Media Arts Exploration.
DAVID OLATOYE
Favourite Time of the Year, 2022, Pen Fabric Acrylic on Canvas, 121.92 x 152.40 cm
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David Olatoye’s compositions are staged in contemporary interior spaces centred around modestly resolute women. His signature ballpoint pen renderings of his subject’s interwoven flesh and visage call attention to his delicate, meditative approach. These features of his work project a future, a space of self-expression and a dream.
Olatoye’s work has been featured in the celebration of Contemporary African Art in Vernissage at the 2018 Circle de Lorraine in Brussels, and has been exhibited at the GR Gallery in New York, Pacers Gallery in Lagos and Ronchini Gallery in London. He holds a degree in Fine Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.
Olatoye’s work has been featured in the celebration of Contemporary African Art in Vernissage at the 2018 Circle de Lorraine in Brussels, and has been exhibited at the GR Gallery in New York, Pacers Gallery in Lagos and Ronchini Gallery in London. He holds a degree in Fine Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.
GBOLAHAN AYOOLA
The Green Prince II, 2022, Acrylic Ink Charcoal Graphite Earth Pastel on Acid Free Paper
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Gbolahan Ayoola is a multidisciplinary artist specialising in abstract expressionism and surrealism. He received a degree in Fine and Applied Arts from the Obafemi Awolowo University in Osun State, Nigeria and has exhibited locally and internationally.
Ayoola’s body of work “We Are Re-agents” explores the idea of an African Renaissance premised on knowledge of the past informing a vision of the future. Ayoola posits that changing the course of the world for the better is not impossible. But such a change can only occur if people act as catalysts of change, bonding together on a journey of self-discovery through history to avert a continuous dearth of culture that will affect future generations.
Ayoola’s body of work “We Are Re-agents” explores the idea of an African Renaissance premised on knowledge of the past informing a vision of the future. Ayoola posits that changing the course of the world for the better is not impossible. But such a change can only occur if people act as catalysts of change, bonding together on a journey of self-discovery through history to avert a continuous dearth of culture that will affect future generations.
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