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New York 2016

  • 1-54 Forum 2016
  • Exhibitors 2016
  • Partners 2016

Olagunju, NiyiTAFETA

Born 1981 in Sagamu, Nigeria
Lives and works in Abuja, Nigeria and London, UK

Niyi Olagunju, Cookie Jar I, 2018, Hand-blown glass, gold leaf, threaded shekere net, 33 x 29 x 28 cm, 12 x 11 x 11 cm. Courtesy TAFETA  

Olagunju’s contemporary appropriation of traditional African sculptures continues his exploration of global trade and, in his words: ‘the absolute commoditisation of everything’. The sculptures, which are usually exhibited alongside preparatory sketches, are bisected vertically and have their internal surfaces primed and coated in metals mined from the region from which they are originally sourced. The project questions the value system driving the continuing growth in the sale of traditional African artifacts, which although originally made and used for specific traditional functions, are now ultimately valued according to their provenance and rarity. Olagunju’s use of precious and semiprecious metals lends consideration to the complex relationships that emerge from the exploitation of natural resources on the African continent, and its subsequent effects on communities and their cultural legacies. Recent exhibitions include African Art: The Market Now, JP Morgan, London (2016).

Selected Artists

Ba, Omar

Goodman, Frances

Sanogo, Amadou

Erruas, Safaa

Jim Chuchu

Boua, Armand

Peterson Kamwathi

Jean-Claude Moschetti

Artists 2016

  • A

    • Aboudia
    • Adams, Derrick
    • Al Miller
    • Andrianomearisoa, Joël
    • Ategwa, Ajarb Bernard
    • Athi-Patra Ruga
  • B

    • Ba, Omar
    • Bandoma, Steve
    • Beatrice Wanjiku
    • Boua, Armand
    • Boutté, Nathalie
  • C

    • Clay Apenouvon
  • D

    • Diop, Omar Victor
  • E

    • Edson Chagas
    • Em’kal Eyongakpa
    • Emma Amos
    • Erruas, Safaa
  • G

    • Gastineau Massamba
    • Goodman, Frances
    • Gor Soudan
  • H

    • Hamidou Maiga
  • I

    • Ibrahim Mahama
  • J

    • Jean-Claude Moschetti
    • Jim Chuchu
  • K

    • Kentridge, William
    • Kganye, Lebohang
    • Khelil, Farah
    • Kura Shomali
  • L

    • Lemaoana, Lawrence
    • Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou
    • Liebenberg, John
    • Lundangi, Franck
  • M

    • Mabunda, Gonçalo
    • Maïmouna Guerresi
    • Maludi, Houston
    • Michéa, Vincent
    • Mika, JP
    • Monteiro, Fabrice
    • Muluneh, Aïda
    • Mustapha Azeroual
    • Mwangi Hutter
  • N

    • Ndary Lo
    • Ndiaye, Cheikh
    • Nzebo, Boris
  • O

    • Olagunju, Niyi
    • Olatunji, Babajide
    • Onditi, Paul
    • Otobong Nkanga
  • P

    • Peterson Kamwathi
    • Phoebe Boswell
  • S

    • Samba, Chéri
    • Sanogo, Amadou
    • Sonia Boyce
    • Sue Williamson
  • T

    • Theo Eshetu
  • U

    • Uche Okpa-Iroha
    • Uman
  • V

    • Veleko, Nontsikelelo
    • Victor, Diane
  • W

    • William Sagna
  • Y

    • Yashua Klos
    • Yéanzi
  • Z

    • Zangewa, Billie
    • Zinkpè, Dominique
    • Zohra Opoku

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