n a rtist resides in: Atlanta, GA n Years in the Business: 6
ONYEKA
n PU BLISHED BY: Self-published n Conta ct: 678-475-2739; www.ibefineart.com
IBE
With his luminous village scenes,
Nigeria-born artist Onyeka Ibe builds
bridges between the very different, yet
oddly kindred, worlds he has come to
know through his travels.
According to Ibe, the dense family
compounds he remembers while growing up in a small Nigerian village are
akin to America’s bustling little towns,
nestled against its megalopolises, or the
farmhouses of the Tuscan countryside.
With his landscapes and figurative
works, Ibe blends Africa’s artistic legacy
with Western and Eastern sensibilities,
which are gleaned through his visits to
New York, Los Angeles and places in between, as well as Europe, Asia and South
America.
Born shortly after the Nigerian Civil
War (1967-1970), Ibe grew up in a developing democracy that was abruptly
terminated. Violence became the order
of the day, and as a youth, he realized
that his artist sensibilities could move
him to fight back at the dehumanizing
situations or escape inward by searching
for elements that point to humanity. Ibe
chose the latter.
The son of a painter and grandson of
a potter, Ibe was academically trained
and graduated summa cum laude with a
degree in fine arts from the University
of Benin, one of Nigeria’s major universities, in 1996. “When I was a small
child, I recall drawing with a broomstick
in the dust,” he says. “While the other
kids were playing, I was busy sketching
on the ground, and I wouldn’t let anyone
touch it.”
African American students.
It was after about three trips to the
United States that Ibe decided to make
America his home. He furthered his art
training at Georgia State University in
Atlanta and currently resides and works
in Atlanta. Early in his career, he worked
in watercolors, pastels and acrylics, and
he also sculpted. But since his move to
the United States, Ibe has embraced
working in oil.
Speaking about his intense impasto
canvases, Ibe says: “Color is the characteristic of my art. I try to create a harmony with layers of colors using my
palette knife.”
Ibe plans to stay in the United States.
To him, Atlanta feels much more like
home than anywhere he has been. It’s
a big city with small-town sensibilities.
His inspiration comes from the beauty
he sees around him. “I think that people
forget to take advantage of the simple
pleasures in life, which is what my paintings thrive on,” Ibe says.
When asked to describe what motivates him, Ibe turns to the beauty he
sees in everyday existence. “Painting is
the only way that I can express myself,”
he explains. “It is the one joy that makes
life so much more meaningful. Going to
my studio every morning is like a new
day filled with excitement and discovery. I work toward creating paintings
that tell stories of beauty, and I believe
that the power of nature and beauty is
enough to humble any human being.
There is so much pleasure when I can
make people be in harmony with their
surroundings.”
Awards/
Recognitions:
Best graduating student in the
Department of Fine Arts and
the Faculty of Arts, University
of Benin, Nigeria, 1996;
Second Place Award in the
African Americans for the Arts
Members Juried Exhibition,
2002; Best SOLO Artist of the
Year at Artexpo New York, 2006;
Judge’s Honorable Mention at
The Quinlan Visual Arts Center
56th Annual Members Exhibition;
Excellence in Visual Arts,
Academy Press PLC, Lagos,
Nigeria
I think that people forget to take advantage of the simple
pleasures in life, which is what my paintings thrive on.
 “Hilltop View I,” a giclée on
canvas, 36 x 36 inches
 “Elation,” a giclée on canvas, 30 x 40 inches
T o d ay ’ s T O P A r t i s t s • J u ly 2 0 0 7
His interest in painting grew as he
watched his father paint. By the time
he was in high school, he was entering
shows and competitions that brought
him into the limelight. Ibe was awarded
a full scholarship to the University of
Benin following his first exhibit at age
16 at the National Gallery of Modern
Art in Lagos, a city of 15 million people.
Ibe first came to America in 1998 for
a four-month visit at the invitation of
Alisha Buford, the coordinator of Ebony
magazine’s anniversary program, to be
part of the week-long activities marking
the annual Magic Johnson “Midsummer
Night’s Magic” event. The charity gathering initiated by the basketball legend
was a successful fundraiser for indigent
 Left: “Utopia,” an oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches; Right: “Local Barn,” an oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches
T o d ay ’ s T O P A r t i s t s • J u ly 2 0 0 7