“All of the charcoal illustrations on canvas and metal sculptures displayed in the exhibition are characterized by the expression of love. The drawings and metal sculptures are picturesque. They are indicative reminiscents of a lifelike view of the person or living organism they represent. This, therefore, makes the works absorbing and relatable.”- Jekami Adetiloye Oluwatosin
SPOTLIGHT Arts and Artists Review is a new art show conceived by Nike Art Centre Lagos. It is scheduled to be held as an exhibition, solo or two-person, in the last week of every month up until the end of the year 2022.
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“(SPOTLIGHT Arts and Artists Review is) an avenue for people to know the artist and the works of the artists. And to also serve as the opportunity for the artist.”– Augustine Obayuwana
The first episode happened in January doubling as the launch of the show with a solo exhibition of Tolu Aliki’s works; the artist whose paintings Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Okundaye commented will surpass the level of achievements and price tag of the legendary master artist: Picasso. If Tolu Aliki sticks to his guns.
The 12 mostly monochromatic artworks have a peaceful effect on the audience (in the case of Stephen Osachukwu’s hyper-realism charcoal drawings) and gives the vibrant wild metal animals of Augustine Obayuwana the feature of quiet gentility.– Jekami Adetiloye Oluwatosin
The second episode opened on Sunday 20th of February 2022 and is scheduled to last up until Saturday 26th February at the ground floor section of the Nike Art Centre dedicated to the SPOTLIGHT Arts and Artists Review.
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The awe-inspiring charcoal drawings of Stephen Osuchukwu and color-muted metal sculptures of Augustine Obayuwana which are made from scraps can be perfectly described with the words entrancing, original, lifelike and romantic.
“The conscious decision to not ply the common trade by more famous or most metal sculptors to colorfully varnish their metal sculptures makes the metal pieces of Augustine Obayuwana unique. The peculiarity of his metal sculptures also lies in the fact that he leaves them as they are.”– Jekami Adetiloye Oluwatosin
Entrancing.
Upon entry into the Nike Art Centre that Sunday 20th of February 2022, it is difficult not to have your entire human senses and interest held there and then by the metally sculpted lion of Augustine Obayuwana created in a versatile digitigrade position.
Although a copy of the daily human interactions and the artists’ engagement with nature, the originality of the 12 artworks on exhibition is greatly astonishing.– Jekami Adetiloye Oluwatosin
Standing silently, in the first encountered center ground floor of the Nike Art Centre. The bushy-mane and bright-eyed king of the jungle animated with exceptional detail in its liveliness “took me 6 months to sculpt”, Augustine Obayuwana reveals.
Looking away from the metal lion, the two charcoal drawings of Stephen Osuchukwu- one depicting the broadway streets of a place that looks like Marina and the other one a marketplace scenario of a place resembling Oshodi both in Lagos, Nigeria- at the side walls leading to the space of the SPOTLIGHT Arts and Artists Review section magnetizes you at once.
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The sketches of Stephen Osuchukwu and the metal sculptures of Augustine Obayuwana are pleasingly rich. Despite the fact that there is a dominant absence of colors in the seven 2 Dimensional drawings and five 3 Dimensional sculptures of Stephen Osuchukwu and Augustine Obayuwana respectively.
“In 2016, Stephen Osachukwu won the 1st Prize Spanish Award and was sponsored to Madrid, Spain for a whole year.”
Even when the colors are scarcely present, they are not as bright as the visible expressions conveyed by the subjects or objects.
The 12 artworks, mostly monochromatic, have a peaceful effect on the audience (in the case of Stephen Osachukwu’s charcoal drawings) and give the vibrant wild metal animals of Augustine Obayuwana the feature of quiet gentility.
The clever ways in which both artists overcame the difficulties of delivering their daring creative imaginations on canvas as is the case of Stephen Osuchukwu, and space as in Augustine Obayuwana is what strongly appealing with jaw-dropping effects.
“The sketches of Stephen Osachukwu are also deliberately presented in the grayscale of white and black, which in all likelihood is his attempt to recreate our polychromatic reality.”– Jekami Adetiloye Oluwatosin
Original
Although a copy of the daily human interactions and the artists’ engagement with nature, the originality of the 12 artworks on exhibition is greatly astonishing.
Stephen Osuchukwu and Augustine Obayuwana’s choices during the artistic process seemed not to be influenced by beauty, observer’s expectations, or trending charades.
“ I will be coming out with some sculptures soon.”– Stephen Osuchukwu
The hyper-realism figurative artist who is also a sculptor reveals.
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The artists’ style, arrangement, shape, and design are affected by both their resolve to be sincere in achieving the purpose of imitating reality as truthfully close to the physical existence of such subjects or objects in the real world.
“I think there is no bad art… Just look for the gallery that is your gallery… when you find your place they will celebrate you”– Augustine Obayuwana
Augustine Obayuwana
The scrap metal sculptures of Augustine Obayuwana are convincing artistic representations of the materiality of the exhibited objects in real life. Augustine Obayuwana presents the raw image of his animal metal sculptures. This causes the objects to look just as they are in their natural elements.
“the sound of the machine electrode inspired me to become a sculptor.”– Augustine Obayuwana
The conscious decision to not ply the common trade by more famous or most metal sculptors to colorfully varnish their metal sculptures makes the metal pieces of Augustine Obayuwana unique. The peculiarity of his metal sculptures also lies in the fact that he leaves them as they are.
Little surprise all of the visitors at the SPOTLIGHT Arts and Artists section of the Nike Art Centre found one of his metal animals- looking somewhat like a Tiger fixated surveying its prey- scary.
“she ( Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Osundaye) is the person that really encouraged me as an artist. She will always buy…I will describe her as a mother with a golden heart because she knows when you need her even when you don’t talk to her. She can see you and know when you need her attention.”– Augustine Obayuwana
Augustine Obayuwana thought process may not be distinctive. But the masterly technique with which he uses smaller objects and majorly grayscale colors to render his forms is impressively outstanding.
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“A lot of people are doing that, let me take the color away”, was the response by Augustine Obayuwana when asked why his works are not colorful as one would expect of them. Even though his works have such potential. Since they contain metal pieces with colors that he dulls on purpose.
Defending his almost decolorized metal sculptures, he continues the aforementioned statement “..let me leave the object the way it is…” which explains why his color-muted works are more accurate authentic depictions of the displayed objects.
Stephen Osuchukwu
“…giving up is a word found in the dictionary of fools.”-Stephen Osuchukwu
Stephen Osuchukwu’s drawings are as pretty as a picture. Instead of the usual paper substance, he illustrates his sketches on canvas which makes them essentially different in kind. They are unlike any sketches you are used to seeing.
“ There is no way to describe her (Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Okundaye). I call her my mummy.”– Stephen Osuchukwu
Stephen Osuchukwu’s charcoal drawings on canvas in his words “…are not common like the charcoal drawings on paper because of the level of difficulty required to create charcoal sketches on canvas”.
Yet with the adept adroitness of a maestro, Stephen Osuchukwu excellently pictures the everyday marketplace. Sometimes portraits of the girl-child as seen in one of his charcoal drawings on display where, in an extremely remarkable way, the girl’s face can be seen dripping with streaks of water. “It is what I see from nature that I represent on that canvas”, Stephen Obayuwana states.
The sketches of Stephen Osuchukwu are also deliberately presented in the grayscale of white and black, which in all likelihood is his attempt to recreate our polychromatic reality. Except in the drawings of marketplaces which in reality would have had more bright colors on most of the items in the drawing other than the actual colors of such things as Eva bottle water, collaged textbook page, and the cayenne (bawa or sombo) or red bell peppers (tatase) that had the artist’s impressions.
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For the fact that the two artists are inventive in their resourceful style. It really is no surprise that the Curator Dr. Chief Mrs. Nike Okundaye and the Co-Curator Mr. Yusuf Durodola decided to exhibit the works of Stephen Osachukwu and Augustine Obayuwana together.
“I love metal ornaments because they are beautiful”– Augustine Obayuwana
Lifelike and Romantic
All of the charcoal illustrations and metal sculptures on the exhibition are characterized by the expression of love.
One for metal ornaments as Augustine Obayuwana claims. “I love metal ornaments because they are beautiful”, Augustine Obayuwana states his romance with metal sculpture. A romance story that propelled him to abandon his gate production business to fully devote himself to the demanding and expensive creative universe of metal artists. Considering the costs of being a metal sculpture in Nigeria, it is indeed only love that has sustained this stunning metal artist.
“Women are the pillars of the home and the society”– Stephen Osuchukwu
The other for the enigma that is the female personality as is the case with Stephen Osuchukwu. “Women are the pillars of the home and the society”, Stephen Obayuwana says as he explains the reason for the constantly obvious female figures visible in all of his hyper-realist figurative drawings.
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He further declares that his inventive drawings are to celebrate women; their struggles, uneasy responsibilities, and attributes. From another perspective, Stephen Osuchukwu emphasizes that “ we do it with passion” when describing how vigorous it is to portray something so real yet it is not.
The drawings and metal sculptures are picturesque. They are indicative reminiscents of a lifelike view of the person or living organism they represent. This, therefore, makes the works absorbing and relatable.
The love with which the pieces were made reflects on them on display, causing onlookers to remain enchanted as they engage the very enjoyable drawings of Stephen Osuchukwu and the cold sculptures of Augustine Obayuwana.
EXISTING IRONY
There is an irony that exists in the artistic journey of the two artists. Augustine Obayuwana started out learning Drawing at the University. Until one eventful day when he visited one of his seniors who at the time was an emerging metal sculptor and “the sound of the machine electrode inspired me to become a sculptor.”
He would go on to graduate as the student with the Best Finishing amongst his sets. Even though “I never knew I would become an artist. But I just loved drawing”. A career that started with the desire to draw is still ongoing. But changed course into an art specialization that he believes is more tangible.
Stephen Osuchukwu has a strong love for sculpture which he has never looked back on since 2009. He claims to have even moved to Lagos because of his passion to own a befitting studio to pursue his goals as a sculptor.
But, according to him, in an attempt “to do something unique that people will say Steve you are doing something”, he dared himself to take up the herculean task of drawing on canvas. And today, his inventive use of charcoal on any material and prolific exploration has over the years made him stand out.
In 2016, Stephen Osuchukwu won the 1st Prize Spanish Award and was sponsored to Madrid, Spain for a whole year. Although he still very much believes in his sculpting abilities which he expressed verbally saying “ I will be coming out with some sculptures soon.”
Sharing his thoughts on the SPOTLIGHT Arts and Artists Review show, Stephen Osuchukwu says “it is a great concept. It brings hope to all artists all over the continent”. Augustine Obayuwana holds that it is “an avenue for people to know the artist and the works of the artists. And to also serve as an opportunity for the artist.”
Advising emerging artists, Stephen Osachukwu insists that “…giving up is a word found in the dictionary of fools.”
“I think there is no bad art… Just look for the gallery that is your gallery… when you find your place they will celebrate you”, shares Augustine Obayuwana.
Commenting on the person of Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Okundaye, Stephen Osuchukwu claims “ there is no way to describe her. I call her my mummy.”
Describing his 4 years artist-collector relationship with Chief Dr. Nike Okundaye, Augustine Obayuwana says ” it has been great. She has been helpful and has supported me a lot. I don’t think I can do better than her.” Augustine Obayuwana maintains that “she ( Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Okundaye) is the person that really encouraged me as an artist. She will always buy…I will describe her as a mother with a golden heart because she knows when you need her even when you don’t talk to her. She can see you and know when you need her attention.”
” it has been great. She has been helpful and has supported me a lot. I don’t think I can do better than her.”– Augustine Obayuwana