Details of Nelson Okoh (Nigerian, born 1974)

Understanding the half-abstract forms in Nelson Okoh’s works requires more than a casual observation from a viewer.  This is especially so with his portraitures’ series depicting tranquil women faces or a quarter-length frame—mostly, either in a meditative gaze or freely posing as models. In one of his famous painting, Yellow Earrings (2012), could be articulated through a special conceptual lens. As Okoh composes the form of his subject’s face in deft brushstrokes. He applies yellow for complimentary purposes: to add and highlight the same details for emphasis. The sallow treatment of the lady’s lower lip and pearls of simplified earrings in form of a dorsal fin, standing out of the composition, stresses these features; as it also help to balance the spreading fall of light upon the subject’s face.

A self-taught artist, Okoh describes his style as impressionism. The unique and distinctive style is created through the use of palette knife. ‘’I am inspired by everything around me (Nature in general). Sometimes it could be from the wave of the sea, dripples of water on a surface, colours of the sky, body language’’, he said. ‘’I just believe the world is filled with a lot, if we decide to open our eyes to see beyond what is visible to the average person.’’