Art Is Business, Nothing Less For Nwokolo
Painter and frame gallery owner, Alex Nwokolo, is alert on the creative and business sides of art, writes TAJUDEEN SOWOLE
MANY professionals believe that after school challenges separate men from the boys, especially in art.
Painter and director of Framemaster, one of the leading framing galleries in art business, Alex Nwokolo, is one of such art entrepreneur-cum-artists, who have been separated from the lot.
Still as active in painting and exhibiting as any other artist, Nwokolo has successfully combined the two; his understanding of the art terrain has led to the birth of what could be regarded as a major brand of Framemaster: a yearly art show known as Miniature. Whoever, has not appeared on the show -old or young artist - is probably on the waiting list for subsequent editions.
The idea of a miniature, Nwokolo says came as a result of what could be described as another method of waste conversion.
Off-cuts of frames usually considered as wastes during framing are used to bring some works back to live.
For some artists who would hardly produce miniature directly, Nwokolo's Miniature show offers an opportunity to inject freshness to thumbnails and junks littering the studio and also, rescue the ones that are on their way to waste dump.
The 2009 edition opened last week Saturday and expected to come to a close next week.
Framing is part of the aesthetics of an art piece because the right frame has the capacity to "dramatically enhance a work and change environment," he says, noting that presentation is part of the value of art appreciation.
"It's all about quality, craftsmanship and fast turnaround; consideration for a client's personal taste, style, likes and dislikes and where the piece is going to be mounted."
In Nwokolo's thought, framing transcends painting and photograph: "We frame anything frame-able to preserve or display such as original works, prints, limited editions, 3-D objects, plasma screens, memorabilia musical instruments, sports equipment, certificates, historical documents, artifacts, awards, mementoes, prizes, awards, ribbons, prints, certificates, Material and technique are no problem."
As demanding as the business of running a frame gallery is, he finds time to remain relevant in mainstream art scene. This much has rewarded him with the office of the Financial Secretary of Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria, (GFA).
Gradually, getting out of the rage and controversy that came with its emergence early last year, GFA remains focused in its mission to take the Nigerian art to a higher level, he assures.
With its classic style induction held early in the year, the group, Nwokolo maintains, is just scratching the surface of what the art community will see from its series of proposed projects in the next few years.
Recently, his solo show, Musing came to a close at Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos after a two-week duration. The body of work actually offered another side of the artist: it was a glaring effort of new colour rendition - subtly refreshing - techniques and concept, generally. Aside very few works that maintained the pronounced colour rendition he is known for, most of the exhibits brought a fresh air of concept.
The idea behind the theme is as simple as the title: "It's a shift, not necessarily taking you completely out of your way. You set out with an idea, but along the way, the muse sets in and you allow it to take control, but have a meeting point. To keep my spark of inspiration alive, I habitually take flight wherever the muse sets in."
A mixed media of shirt and plastered with the female figures was the artist's offer of a plea: God, Forgive Us Our Trespasses. And to stress the 'trespasses', comes a lipstick print on the collar of the shirt.
Still musing in that context was Red Zone, a piece about the sex hawkers' spots in big cities. No matter what the society feels about this section, "we just cannot pretend that they are not with us. Don't forget that there was a time Ayilara-Ojuelegba axis in Lagos used to be a notorious red light spot," Nwokolo says and attempts to depict these characters in drawing of nude figures, concealed behind the subtle texture.
An artist with a strong tendency for design - art form widely seen to be less demanding as other conceptual paintings, he argues, "design is not escapist; it has its challenges."
A statement on his website, clearly explains what his art stands for: "My interest in the contributions of the impressionist movement and the Auchi School is in part, responsible for my involvement with colour. My works are experimental in nature and have centred on an investigation into the effects of creative colouring and the effect of light and dark on colours. I draw on all available information on the subject I am painting, by carefully combining all available data on the subject in terms of design, in order to produce a totally expressive painting with an abstract quality and a life of its own.
"However, with constant experimentation methods, ideas and materials keep evolving and as result my works are constantly evolving, thereby yielding fresh, exciting and unpredictable ends that delights the senses."
Contextual strength of artists remains a strong issue in the local art scene, these days, as some would argue that most artists here are too repetitive in their themes. Repetition is not new in the global art scene, he argues, taking a retrospective look at his art and recalls that in the past, "my rooftops, for example, used to be different from what it is today. So experimentation is the real road to new techniques. It's impossible to keep doing the same thing over and over."
An artist's environment makes a lot of influence, that perhaps brings about what he believes is being misinterpreted to be repetitive. He, however, sees art as a non-routine profession; fresh challenges come by the day so, "when I dream it, I create it."
That brings in the piece, Jankara, oil on canvas, about the popular market with its origin in Lagos Island, but now has no geographical boundary - Jankara market currently exists in the Mainland as well. "If you are used to a particular place, as an artist, you reflect it, of course with different styles. For example, I had painted Jankara market severally, and I am still painting it but each time, it comes with fresh look. It's very hard to paint a market and call it Ubulu-Uku or any name from my hometown in Delta. No doubt, my parents come from Delta State, but I was born and raised here in Lagos Island; I am used to the settings here and those who buy my art are also used to the Lagos environment."
Born and raised in the famous Lafiaji, Nwokolo graduated with Higher National Diploma (HND) in Panting from Auchi Polytechnic, a school known for churning out artists who apply "vibrant colours".
He bagged a master's degree in Fine Art (MFA) in Painting from the University of Benin.
Setting out into the art world was not a slow thing for Nwokolo, as he won the American Ambassador`s Prize for Painting early in his career.
A preview of that event in 1993 was all he needed to make his major solo debut, Alex Nwokolo at Fenchurch Gallery, Onikan, Lagos in 1997. He set up the framing business, Framemaster in 2001.
Having set out with two solo shows so soon in his career, such ventilation appeared to have spurred him on. About 20 group outings and seven solo shows, apparently, were enough to position Nwokolo for the future. A future that lies largely beyond his immediate environment: art like any other profession is also contributing to the global village. It was, therefore, not a surprise when a Camerounian art promoter, Catherine Pittet who has a global focus for African art, chose Nwokolo along side 10 Nigerian artists who are part of a current art tour of Africa and Europe.
The show, which is making its stop in Nigeria at the Civic Centre, on Thursday, is titled The Last Pictures VI and curated by Pittet. It features works of a total 46 artists from five countries. Other Nigerian artists are Tola Wewe, Abiodun Olaku, Nwokolo, Duke Asidere, Gorge Edozie, Wallace Ejoh, Patrick Agose, Babalola Lawanson, Bob Uwagdo and Josh Nmeshionye. Countries represented are Cameroun, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Gabon and France. The tour took off in Douala, Cameroun in October.
