Artist profile
N
State Nigeria.
igerian born, Chidi A. Okoye
graduated with a distinction
in sculpture (Higher
National Diploma) from the
Institute of Management
and Technology in Enugu,
Nigeria, in 1988. For the next
six years he taught sculpture
and drawing at Federal
Polytechnic Oko Anambra
During this period, he created an outstanding
collection, not only sculpting, but painting and
writing as well. In Nigeria, He had his national
solo exhibition “Textures of Life” and launching
of his book “Lamentation” at national museum
Lagos in 1993 sponsored by Mobil Producing
Nigeria. Okoye is as famous for his poetry as for
his painting and sculpture.
In 1994 Okoye moved to Vancouver, Canada,
where he immediately became involved in a
number of projects promoting international
artistic exchange and was a leading light in the
local Black creative community. Okoye believes
that his art offers him a chance of relating to
his environment, complementing the beauty of
nature with man-made forms and images, which
spring from his ancestral culture. He combines
the strength, uniqueness and dynamism of his
heritage with a technically skilled understanding
of the power of forms, feeling and materials to
create works, which continue to thrill audiences.
The wide appeal of his works seems to lie in its
identifiably African approach to colors and lines,
but with an ability to turn his distinctive style to
a wide rage of subjects. Okoye’s paintings and
sculpture have been praised for their capacity
to raise awareness of important socio-political
issues without resorting to militancy.
He participated in various creative competitions,
like those to design posters for the Festival
Sundiata in Seattle, which he won in 1995,
CHIDI OKOYE
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