Fadekemi Ogunsanya Nigeria, b. 1995
Fadekemi Ogunsanya is a multi-disciplinary Nigerian artist based in the
UK. Born in 1995. She paints cathartic emotional landscapes, scenes concerned
with the ineffable questions of love, joy, suffering, and loss. Having grown up
within a patriarchal Yoruba family structure, Ogunsanya exposes another side to
this world. Her work carries a complex awareness of womanhood and the covert
power of female alliances within such traditional structures. Infused with
mythological references - indigo, a colour steeped in cosmic significance within
Yoruba culture, animates this world. Ogunsanya’s subjects exude a quiet
confidence and exist somewhere between portraits and imagination, a collection of
faces and spirits intertwined, sharing profound bonds of mutual reinforcement.
Ogunsanya explores unconventional avenues of presentation, which depart from
the conventions of the white cube. As a trained architect, Ogunsanya’s paintings
extend beyond the two dimensional and into objects in and of themselves: she
designs and creates hand-painted, laser-cut, wooden frames that hold each
painting and allow them to straddle the space between image and object.
Fadekemi Ogunsanya received her Masters from the Architectural Association
School of Architecture in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Nina Johnson,
Miami, USA (2023); Easy Remedies For A Tired Heart, FF Projects, London, UK
(2023); Sweet Joy, Sweet Suffering, Lagos, Nigeria (2021). In 2022, she took part in
group shows at Stevenson Gallery in Cape Town, Ben Brown Fine Arts in Hong
Kong and London, and Frieze No.9 Cork Street in London.
-
Fadekemi OgunsanyaDoes she have two heads?, 2024Gouache on paper, artist-made stained wood frame41 x 30 cm
-
Fadekemi OgunsanyaAnd So I Learned To Speak, 2023Gouache and wood stain on wooden panel, artist-made
stained wood frame38 x 35 cm -
Fadekemi OgunsanyaBack to Sender, 2023Gouache on paper, artist-made stained wood frame41 x 30 cm
-
Fadekemi OgunsanyaCool, 2023Oil and oil pastel mixture on canvas, artist-made stained
wood frame70 x 70 cm -
Fadekemi OgunsanyaI am my sister, 2023Gouache on paper, artist-made acrylic on poplar plywood
frame41 x 30 cm -
Fadekemi OgunsanyaWhisper of the heart, 2023Gouache on paper, artist-made stained wood frame56 x 67 cm