Details of Okey Ibeabuchi (Nigerian, born 1972)

The 2008 group exhibition: ‘’Arts & Objects’’ at the Henri Moweta Gallery, Lagos, displayed works by Okey Ibeabuchi noted for their massive relief surfaces. Perhaps encouraged by approving response from collectors following his previous shows in Abuja and Lagos—between 2010 and 2012 he churned out paintings that were even more tactile.  It was as though the artist were sculpting on canvas with encrusted surfaces built with a complex network of jutes, caps of empty colour tubes, cones, plastic bottle covers, found rubber slippers, and decaying woods. From then onward, these largely waste materials, became recurring elements in his art. Ibeabuchi’s background as a graphic artist also influences his use of colours. Early paintings by the artist predating his low relief works, permeates an enviable range of luminous spectrum. But his more synthetic use of colours and divisionist approach draws critical attention to the brilliant pointillism features in his works. Especially his remarkable monumental body of works relying on carefully made tiny dots to create forms of glamorously decorated women.