Chike Aniakor (born 1939) is a Nigerian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. A native of

Abatete Abatete is a Town in Anambra State in Nigeria. Abatete is bordered by Uke, Ogidi, Abacha, OraukwuAlor Ideani, Nimo, Eziowelle, Umuoji. It is located in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State. It is made up of four villages namely : ...

, Aniakor received his first artistic training at

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

, receiving his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1974. He received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

in 1978, writing his dissertation on

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. He has taught art and art history at the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

, since 1970, becoming a member of the

Nsukka group The Nsukka group is the name given to a group of Nigerian artists associated with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Description The Nsukka group was known for working to revive the practice of ''uli'' and incorporate its designs into contempo ...

. Presently a Professor at the University of Cross River State teaching Arts and Contemporary African Art. More recently, he has been a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

. Along with

Uche Okeke Christopher Uchefuna Okeke (; April 30, 1933 – January 5, 2016), also known as Uche Okeke (), was an illustrator, painter, sculptor, and teacher. He was an art and aesthetic theorist, seminal to Nigerian modernism. Background Christopher Uche ...

, Aniakor was among the first Nsukka artists to develop an interest in ''

uli Uli may refer to: *Uli, Iran, a village *Uli, Anambra, a town in Nigeria * Uli I of Mali * Uli (design), by the Igbo people of Nigeria * Uli figure, from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea *Uli (food), a rice-based food * ISO 639 code for the Ulithian ...

'', and his drawings and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s display a strong affinity to the system. His human figures frequently possess elongated bodies and limbs, and he often makes use of negative space. His subjects are mainly drawn from Igbo culture and from the

Biafran War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

. More recently his art has become more concerned with Nigerian social conditions.

References

Bio from the National Museum of African Art
1939 births Living people Artists from Anambra State Igbo painters Academic staff of the University of Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian painters 21st-century Nigerian painters Indiana University Bloomington alumni {{Nigeria-painter-stub