The Nsukka group is the name given to a group of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n artists associated with 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 th ...
.
Description
The Nsukka group was known for working to revive the practice of ''
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 incorporate its designs into contemporary art using media such as
acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. De ...
,
tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
,
gouache
Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...
, pen and ink,
pastel,
oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and va ...
, 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 ...
. Although traditionally ''uli'' artists were female, many of the artists of the group were male. Some were poets and writers in addition to being artists.
The Nsukka group evolved as a trend that can be sensed in the works of some African artists. It usually reveals itself an original mix of cubism and primitive arts.
In October 1997, the
National Museum of African Art
The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution's African art museum, located on the National Mall of the United States capital. Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-S ...
of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
launched the exhibition ''The Poetics of the Line: Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group'', which also was the inaugural exhibition of the
Sylvia H. Williams Gallery.
Members
*
Tayo Adenaike
*
El Anatsui
El Anatsui ( h-nah-ch-wee born 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his " bottle-top installations". These installations consist of thousands of aluminum piec ...
*
Chike Aniakor
Chike Aniakor (born 1939) is a Nigerian painter. A native of Abatete, Aniakor received his first artistic training at Ahmadu Bello University, receiving his master's degree in 1974. He received a doctorate in art history from Indiana University Bl ...
*
Olu Oguibe
*
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 ...
*
Ada Udechukwu
*
Obiora Udechukwu
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Description of the group from the National Museum of African Art
Nigerian artists
African artist groups and collectives
University of Nigeria
{{Africa-artist-stub