The Baltimore Museum of Art announced on the 17th of January 2023 that it has acquired, through purchase and gift, 162 artworks that cut across a wide range of artistic practices and perspectives. This acquisition seeks to fill in the gaping holes in the museum’s entire spectrum of collections and amend the critical omission in its post-war and contemporary art collections.
In an effort to tell a more precise historical narrative, the Baltimore Museum of Art is looking to illuminate fresh talent and bring into the spotlight artists and art works that may have been underrated or unrecognized in the contemporary art scene. The latest acquisition creates space to emphasize a more diverse range of voices and practices that have contributed immensely to the elevation of the art industry.
Among these latest acquisitions is Nengi Omuku’s Reclining Figures. The oil painting rendered on strips of sanyan fabric portrays two entwined figures surrounded by a sea of monstera plants potted in cobalt aquamarine pots captured in a background that is reminiscent of the artist’s studio setting. The physical form of these figures bears resemblance to those of ancient Greek sculptures.
Omuku is well known for her paintings of elusive figures with obscured faces floating through and interacting with active landscapes. She explores in her practice, the complexities of topics like identity and the subject of gender in relation to cultural heritage and race.
Her work is heavily inspired by a distinct understanding of the body that transcends physical representation and establishes a focus on the internal framework of the mind. Her practice further delves into the intricacies of how this internal psychology is expressed in the physical world through the positioning and expression of the body. In terms of the physicality of creating her works, Omuku acknowledges her western education by employing the techniques of using oil paints as a medium while honoring her roots by rendering her paintings on sanyan; a traditionally woven fabric that historically originates from Nigeria.
In navigating the concept of identity and belonging, Nengi Omuku’s artworks oscillate between figurative and abstract such that there is a blur between the bodies and the landscape they are interacting with. Her practice carries a lot of sentiments with the aim of uplifting the spirit of the mentally or physically ill by embodying the intimacy of a collective experience rather than an individualistic one.
