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Die in Australien geborene, in Nigeria aufgewachsene Künstlerin Nnenna Okore (*1975 Canberra, AUS) lebt und arbeitet in Chicago, Illinois, und ist temporär, im Rahmen von Lehraufträgen, Ausstellungen etc., in Nigeria tätig, dem Heimatland ihrer Familie.
Okore ist in beiden Ländern in diversen klimapolitischen Initiativen aktiv. Okore hat bis 1999 an der University of Nigeria in Nsukka bei El Anatsui und bis 2005 an der University of Iowa studiert. Seither unterrichtet sie an der North Park University in Chicago. 2023 hat Okore zudem den Abschluss Doctor of Philosophy (Fine Art) an der Monash University, Melbourne, Australien, erworben.
Ihr Werk wird von den Galerien Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, der October Gallery, London, und der Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, vertreten.
Farben und Formen, Texturen und organische Materialien dreier Lebenswelten – Australien, Nigeria, USA – fließen in die Werke von Nnena Okore ein. Kulturelle Überlieferungen und handwerkliche Traditionen ihrer Heimatländer treffen in ihren multimedialen Objekten auf bildhafte Verarbeitungen natürlicher Kreisläufe und Energien und artikulieren Themen aus aktuellen umweltpolitischen und feministischen Diskursen.
Ausbildung
2023
Doktor der Philosophie (Bildende Kunst), Monash University, Melbourne, Australien
2005
Master of Fine Arts (Sculpture), Universität von Iowa, Iowa City/IA, USA
2004
Master of Arts, Universität von Iowa, Iowa City/IA, USA
1999
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Universität von Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
Einzelausstellungen
2024
“Chasing Butterflies in Harmattan”, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Deutschland
2023
“Spirit Dance”, Stanley Museum of Art (University of Iowa), Iowa City/IA, USA
2022
“In/Flux”, MADA Gallery (Monash University), Melbourne, Australien
“Macroscopic Organisms”, Also Known As Africa, Paris, Frankreich
“Making Kin”, Carlson Tower Gallery, Chicago/IL, USA
2021
“Bioplastic: Thing Power”, B27 Gallery (Monash University), Melbourne, Australien
2019
“Plasmorganisms”, Chicago Public Library (Albany Park Branch), Chicago/IL, USA
2018
“Embodiment”, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Deutschland
2017
“Ukwa Ruo Oge Ya O daa”, October Gallery, London, UK
“Ututu”, Mattatuck Museum of Art, Waterbury/CT, USA
“Anima”, Legion Art CSPS Galleries, Cedar Rapids/IA, USA
“Osimili”, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
2016
“Sheer Audacity”, Memphis Brook Museum of Art, Memphis/TN, USA
“When All Is Said and Done”, Monique Moloche Gallery, Chicago/IL, USA
2015
“Owu”, Arrowhead Gallery, Waubonsee College, Sugar Grove/IL, USA
“Nkata”, Krannert Museum of Art (University of Urbana-Champaign), Urbana/IL, USA
“On the Brink”, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst/IL, USA
2014
“Twist and Turns”, David Krut Gallery, New York/NY, USA
“Fiber of Being”, Welch School Galleries (Georgia State University), Atlanta/GA, USA
“Unfound”, Beard Art Center Gallery (Indiana Wesleyan University), Marion/IN, USA
“Will You Walk With Me to the End of the Earth?”, Carlson Tower Gallery (North Park University), Chicago/IL, USA
2013
“Akaraka: What Will Be”, Art Twenty One, Lagos, Nigeria
“Flow”, Wheatbaker Hotel Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
2012
“Transfiguration”, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York/NY, USA
2011
“New Works”, Herron School of Art and Design Gallery (Indiana University), Indianapolis/IN, USA
“Shokoloko”, Craft Alliance, St. Louis/MO, USA
“Rush”, Skidmore College Gallery, Saratoga Springs/NY, USA
“Metamorphoses”, October Gallery, London, UK
“Torn Apart”, David Krut Projects, New York/NY, USA
“On The Edge”, Dittmar Memorial Gallery (Northwestern University), Evanston/IL, USA
2010
“Life After”, Noyes Art Center, Evanston/IL, USA
“Textile”, Blachère Foundation Art Center, Apt, Frankreich
“Recovered Energies”, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
“Absurd Beauty”, Northeastern Illinois University Gallery, Chicago/IL, USA
2009
“Strings and Patterns”, Viterbo University Gallery, La Crosse/WI, USA
“Anyanwu”, Carl A. Fields Center Gallery (Princeton University), Princeton/NJ, USA
“Twisted Ambience”, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago/IL, USA
“Common Thread”, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
“Of Earth...Bark and Topography”, Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
2008
“Ulukububa”, October Gallery, London, UK
“Moonlight Tales”, Tall Grass Gallery, Park Forest/IL, USA
“Affrika West”, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, UK
2007
“Reflection”, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York/NY, USA
“Sub-consciousness”, Adam Hall Gallery (Wheaton College), Wheaton/IL, USA
2006
“Trans-figuration”, Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery (Moraine Valley Community College), Palos Hills/IL, USA
“Betwixt and Between”, Carlson Gallery (North Park University), Chicago/IL, USA
2005
“Paper to Paper”, Armature Gallery, University of Iowa, Iowa City/IA, USA
2004
“Accumulations”, Arts Iowa City, Iowa City/IA, USA
2003
“Re-presented”, Armature Gallery (University of Iowa), Iowa City/IA, USA
2002
“Beyond the Lines”, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
2001
“Metaphors”, Alternative Space, Lagos, Nigeria
Gruppenausstellungen
2024
“Voices from Abroad”, Behncke Galerie, München, Deutschland
“Neo-Custodians: Woven Narratives of Heritage, Cultural Memory, and Belonging”, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha/NE, USA
“To Weave the Sky: Textile Abstractions, from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection”, El Espacio 23, Miami/FL, USA
2023
“Unbridled Encounters”, Walford Galleries (Wheaton College), Wheaton/IL, USA
“Intimations”, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Deutschland
“Tapestry of Voices: The Poetic Dialogue Project”, Christopher Art Gallery (Prairie State College), Chicago Heights/IL, USA; Downing Museum, Bowling Green/KY, USA
“Earthly Visions: Inside the Climate Crisis”, Gallery 400 (The University of Illinois), Chicago/IL, USA
“Narrative Threads: Fiber Art Today”, Moody Center for the Arts (Rice University), Houston/TX, USA; Cambridge Art Gallery, Ontario, Kanada
“Fragments & Fabrications”, Bradbury Art Museum (Arkansas State University), Jonesboro/AR, USA
“To Build What We Become When We Dream”, Queens Square Gallery (Cambridge Art Galleries), Ontario, Kanada
2022
“HerStory: Shaping History”, Rele Gallery, Los Angeles/CA, USA
“Poetics of Material”, Rele Gallery, Los Angeles/CA; Rele Gallery, Lagos, USA
2021
“Trauma”, Triennale Brugge, Brugge, Belgien
“Ecological Co-Development”, Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China
“Columned Hall Exhibition”, Stoa169, Polling, Deutschland
“The Invincible Hands”, Yemi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos, Nigeria
“Natural Materials”, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
“Podium II”, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
2020
“Second Careers: Tributaries in African Art”, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland/OH, USA
“31:women”, Daimler Art Collection, Berlin, Deutschland
“Prête-Moi Ton Rêve”, Musée des Civilizations Noires, Dakar, Senegal
2019
“Art + Identity”, Browngrotta Art Gallery, Wilton/CT, USA
“Fuel for Thought”, Art Exchange Gallery, Essex, UK
“Transformed: Paper in Dimension”, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton/NJ, USA
“Water”, Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, Cedarburg/WI, USA
2018
“Abstract Minded: Works by Six Contemporary African Artists”, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Pittsburgh/PA, USA; Samuel Dorsky Museum, New Paltz/NY, USA; N‘Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit/MI, USA
2017
“The Enlighteners”, Palais des Papes, Avignon, Frankreich; Musée du Petit Palais, Avignon, Frankreich; Musée Calvet, Avignon, Frankreich; Musée Lapidaire Avignon, Frankreich
“Beyond the Surface”, Fashion Outlet, Chicago/IL, USA
“When the Heavens Meet The Earth”, The Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, UK
“Weather or Not, That is the Question”, Children‘s Museum of the Arts, New York/NY, USA
2016
“La mer/La mère”, St Mary‘s College, South Bend/IN, USA
“Standing Out”, Temple Muse, Lagos, Nigeria
“Summertime Group Exhibition”, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
“Finding Shelter: An Exhibition of Contemporary Fiber Art”, Baum Gallery (University of Central Arkansas), Conway/AR, USA
2015
“Exceptional: Handmade Paper Beyond Substrate”, Minnesota Center for Book Art, Minneapolis/MN, USA
“The Contemporaries”, Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Nigeria
“Works from Around our State”, Evanston Art Center, Evanston/IL, USA
“Africa Africans”, Museu Afro Brasil, Sao Paulo, Brasil
2014
“Interwoven Histories”, October Gallery, London, UK
“Brides of Anansi: Fiber and Contemporary Art”, Spelman Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta/GA, USA
“African Origins”, Morton Fine Art, Washington DC, USA
2013
“Six Draughtsmen”, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Art, New York/NY, USA
“International Biennial of Lin de Portneuf”, Quebec, Kanada
“No One Belongs Here More Than You”, Center for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria
2012
“Textura”, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
“Inside-out/Outside-in”, Visual Art Center Gallery (Mississippi State University), Mississippi State/MS, USA
“We Face Forward”, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
“(Re-)Cycles of Paradise”, LACE Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles/CA, USA
2011
“Transcending Integration”, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore/MD, USA
“Environment and Object in Recent African Art”, Anderson Gallery (Virginia Commonwealth University), Richmond/VA, USA; Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs/NY, USA
2010
“As It Is: Contemporary Art from Africa and the Diasporas”, Mojo Gallery, Dubai, VAE
“Scratch”, Latit Kala Akademi (Sakshi Gallery), Neu-Delhi, Indien
“(Re-)Cycles of Paradise”, UN COP16, Cancun, Mexiko
“29th Sao Paulo Biennial”, Sao Paulo, Brasil
“Textile”, Blachère Foundation Art Center, Apt, Frankreich
2009
“(Re-)Cycles of Paradise”, UN COP15, Kopenhagen, Dänemark
“Common Ground”, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco/CA, USA
“In Progress”, Carlson Tower Gallery (North Park University), Chicago/IL, USA
“Trash Menagerie”, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem/NY, USA
“Paper to Pulp”, Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City/MD, USA
“Transvangarde”, October Gallery, London, UK
“Chance Encounters”, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, Indien
“Objects of A Revolution”, Galerie Dominique Fait, Paris
“Trace/Memory”, Evanston Art Center, Evanston/IL, USA
2008
“Angaza Africa”, October Gallery, London, UK
“Affrika West”, Galeri Artspace, Caernarfon, UK
“Art Exhibition”, Art4 Gallery, Channel4, London, UK
“Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary”, Museum of Arts and Design, New York/NY, USA
“Refabrication”, Carlson Gallery, North Park University, Chicago/IL, USA
“Clay and Fiber”, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago/IL, USA
“Trading Spaces”, Binghamton University, Binghamton/NY, USA
“Moonlight Tales”, Tall Grass Arts Association, Park Forest/IL, USA
2007
“African Contemporary Art Exhibition”, Dakar Biennale, Dakar, Senegal
2005
“Twelfth SOFA International Exposition”, Chicago/IL, USA
“8th International Open Exhibition”, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago/IL, USA
2003
“Migrations”, Legion Arts CSPS, Cedar Rapids/IA, USA
“Units”, Legion Arts CSPS, Cedar Rapids/IA, USA
2002
“New Works”, Armature Gallery, University of Iowa, Iowa City/IA, USA
2001
“New Energies”, Nimbus Gallery and Mydrim Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
Lehrerfahrung
2021-2022
Assistant Chief Examiner, Monash University, Melbourne, Australien
2019-2021
Associate Lecturer, Monash University, Melbourne, Australien
seit 2015
Professor, North Park University, Chicago/IL, USA
2011-2015
Associate Professor, North Park University, Chicago/IL, USA
2005-2011
Assistant Professor, North Park University, Chicago/IL, USA
Stipendien und Auszeichnungen
2023
Threewalls Community Art Grant, Chicago, USA
2021
Creative Victoria Art Grant, Melbourne, Australien
2020
Monash M Pavilion Art Grant, Melbourne, Australien
2018
Individual Professional Development Grant, North Park University, Chicago, USA
2017
Research and Development Lab Award, Threewalls, Chicago, USA
2012
Fulbright Scholar Award
2011
Artist-in-residence, Skidmore College, New York, USA
2010
Artist Residency, Jean Paul Blachére Foundation, Apt, Frankreich
Artist-in-residence, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA
2007
Artist Full Fellowship at Global Art Village, Delhi, Indien
Residency Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, USA
2006
Art Omi International Residency, New York, USA
UNESCO-Aschberg Fellowship for Artists (Gruber Jez Foundation), Mexiko
2004
SFAI Residency, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, USA
Sammlungen
Stanley Museum of Art (University of Iowa), Iowa City/IA, USA; Krannert Museum of Art (University of Urbana Champaign), Urbana/IL, USA; Kruizenga Art Museum (Hope College), Holland/MI, USA; Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Miami/FL, USA; North Park University, Chicago/IL, USA; World Bank, Washington DC, USA; Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn/NY, USA; Newark Museum, Newark/NJ, USA; Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis/IN, USA; Jean Paul Blachère Foundation, Apt, Frankreich; Mercedes Benz Art Collection, Stuttgart, Deutschland; Vereinigte Staaten Botschaft, Abuja, Nigeria; Royal Collections, Abu Dhabi, VAE; Sina Jina Collection, London, UK.