Every month, the Artsy team curates a list of artists who have caught their attention in the art scene through their “Artists on Our Radar” series. They utilize their art expertise and access to Artsy data to highlight five artists from all over the world. The artists featured on this list are making an impact this past month through new gallery representation, exhibitions, auctions, art fairs, or fresh works on Artsy. ANA is spotlighting Nigerian-born artist, Matthew Eguavoen on Artsy’s Radar for April.
Image courtesy of Artsy
Matthew Eguavoen (b. 1988) is a self-taught painter from Edo State, Nigeria. In his practice as a full-time contemporary painter, he uses a combination of oil paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, and graphite pencils to portray his subjects’ emotions and demeanour.
Eguavoen challenges societal and political narratives about Blackness through his focus on African identity in his works. He explores the connection between community and mental health in his large-scale acrylic and oil paintings by placing his subjects in everyday settings. As an artist living and working in Nigeria, he uses his work to explore the complex intersectionality that Nigerians face in different aspects of life from a political, societal, and economic perspective.
Concerned about the impact of his work on his immediate environment and the world at large, Eguavoen explores societal, political, and economic instability in his works. He is curious about his subjects’ reactions to their environment, and this is why he is particular about documenting the emotions and demeanor of his subjects. Common to his work is the bold unwavering stare and striking focus that his subjects often possess.
“I have a need for facial representation and I am fascinated by its power to evoke an emotional response from my viewers. If you look at my work from a distance, it looks realistic but when you come close you start to notice my brush strokes, the strokes are a representation of the subjects’ experience, and how they are affected by it, ” Eguavoen says.
Image courtesy of Artsy
Eguavoen’s work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions at PM/AM, Afikaris, and OOA Gallery, as well as at international art fairs like Art X Lagos and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. This month, Badr El Jundi Gallery will host a solo exhibition of Eguavoen’s paintings at the 10th edition of EXPO Chicago.
