Victor Ekpuk is a Nigerian-born artist based in Washington, DC. Ekpuk came to prominence through his paintings and drawings, which reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and Uli art forms. Ekpuk speaks to us about contemporary African art in the marketplace.
LEADSTORY
Nigerian art market doesn’ t respect history
Victor Ekpuk is a Nigerian-born artist based in Washington, DC. Ekpuk came to prominence through his paintings and drawings, which reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and Uli art forms. Ekpuk speaks to us about contemporary African art in the marketplace.
Investing in fine art in Nigeria, there is resurgence in that area – Do you want to share your personal experience? I see this notion of investing in art in Nigeria as a welcoming development. When I was operating as an artist in Nigeria in the 1990s, most of the people who were interested in collecting art were mainly expatriates and a handful Nigerians, But take it 10, 15 or 20 years after, there’ s not only a flourishing art industry, we now have blossoming auction houses. It started with Arthouse, the first indigenous auction house that really made an impact. Through this initiative, works of Nigerian contemporary artist now has officially documented global value.
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