Artist-to-Artist: Nengi Omuku Selected by Yinka Shonibare CBE

Nigeria-born Nengi Omuku, nominated by Yinka Shonibare for Artist-to-Artist 2024, is presenting three new works at Frieze London. Omuku’s paintings abound with references to the natural world, featuring groups and individuals set in spectacular landscapes. Romantic and impressionistic, they are testament to the imaginative power of reverie and empathy. By using sanyan – a handspun Yoruba fabric that has shaped the cultural history of Nigeria – in place of canvas, she grounds the otherworldly in local tradition. Suspended, the works are viewed in the round so that visitors can experience both Omuku’s painting and the artisanal quality of the cloth so integral to its meaning.

About Nengi Omuku

Nengi Omuku (b. 1987) lives in Lagos and London. Solo and group exhibitions include Dakar Art Biennial (2024); Dulwich Picture Gallery (2024); Compton Verney, Warwickshire (2024); Arnolfini, Bristol (2024); Hastings Contemporary (2023); and The Whitworth, Manchester (2023). Collections include Baltimore Museum of Art; The Whitworth; and ICA Miami. 

Nengi Omuku is showing with Pippy Houldsworth Gallery and Kasmin New York at Frieze London 2024. 

Further Information

Frieze London and Frieze Masters, 9 – 13 October 2024, The Regent’s Park.

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^{Main image: Nengi Omuku, Chasing Shadows, 2023 (detail). Oil on sanyan fabric. Courtesy of Pippy Houldsworth}