African art stirs my soul. I literally fall in love with pieces and feel that they should be seen and appreciated by everyone. This is kind of how our collection started. I would fall in love with a piece, buy it, fall in love with another piece buy it, and so it grew. I then began to think that there must be others out there who share my love for African art.
As much as the ascetic nature, look and feel of art causes particular pieces to appeal to me, the history of a piece can also ender it to me - which i am sure if the same for great number of people.
I am often amazed at the amount of traditional art which aims to help women with fertility issues, and the number which is created to deal with the right of passage as children become adults (which is in itself a huge transition). I find that fertility is a subject matter constantly broached in the majority of traditional African art - I’m not sure if it is as a result of the people being more reliant on the earth as a means of survival and a large family as a means of ensuring the longevity of the family due to short life expectancy.
My love of African art is not only directed to traditional art but also to contemporary sculptures, paintings and handicrafts. Through this blog, I hope to showcase some of the art work which inspires me and some which gives me the creeps like fetish art.
Currently my favourite non traditional sculpture is our sculpture entitled Princess. It an abstract sculpture carved from Benin ebony – as can be guessed from the name Benin ebony originates from Benin in Nigeria. It is a honey coloured two tone ebony wood which adds warmth and depth to the pieces that are carved from it.
I asked the artist where he got the concept for this princess sculpture from and he told me that with all of his work sometimes the idea or concept just comes to him and sometimes he dreams it - in my various interactions with artists,I have found that this is more often than not the case, artists such as Twin Seven Seven are said to dream their painting before they actually paint it.
The majority of the carvings carved by the artist who created the Princess sculpture are abstract in nature but they are all fantastic pieces. Every time I visit him at his studio in Lagos, I end up purchasing another piece. His attention to detail is amazing and very similar to that of Lamidi Fakeye and Akin Fakeye although their work is very different as all of their carvings are traditional and steeped in the culture and heritage of the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria.
My appreciation of the Princess sculpture is due to the appeal of its flowing design which draws you in. It's clean, smooth and graceful lines just sets it apart. I have placed it in place of pride in my living room with a spot light to softly illuminate and draw the eyes to it in appreciation. A stunning piece indeed!
