From Saturday, February 20 to April 30, 2021, Artpedia Gallery, a contemporary art gallery and creative experience in the heart of Lagos will launch its new gallery space with The Persistence of Time, a group art exhibition featuring top Nigerian contemporary artists.
The exhibition will bring together 28 paintings from the gallery’s expansive collection featuring artists like Ada Godspower, Elizabeth Ekpetorson, Frederick Idele, Ikechukwu Ezeigwe, Habeeb Andu and Sejiro Avoseh.
The exhibition will also be curated by Kehinde “Kennii” Ekundayo, an independent art curator based in Lagos, Nigeria who also doubles as the Head Curator at Galeri ODUMIJE, a research and curatorial outfit which operates out of Lagos, Nigeria.
According to a statement by the organizers of the exhibition, the title of the exhibition is derived from the iconic painting of Spanish artist, Salvador Dalí, one of the remarkable artists of the Surrealism art movement named The Persistence of Memory (1931).
Artpedia Nigeria exhibition
Tallying with the movement, it presents a school of artistry that has been shaped by time — through individual experiences and social events — and distinctively marked by the capricious forms and precise reflections of the unconscious mind.
From “The Show” a walk through the socio-political connotations of Avoseh who is synonymous for his style of fusing collage and painting techniques to create dissimilar forms layered in a complex manner to the hasty yet measured brushstrokes of Elizabeth Ekpetorson who logs time and allows its resulting elements such as emotions and reactions fuel her artistic production, the exhibition holds a promise for an exciting time.
“It is almost always a prerequisite in many arts shows to create a concept that introduces a completely fresh meaning and sense to a collection.
The exhibition, The Persistence of Time, theorises the influence of time in artistic innovation. This is reflected in the interconnectedness of the 28 randomly selected and displayed artworks by six artists who have independently produced each body of work at different times (dating from 2017 to 2021). It also realises other sub-themes totalled as creative inspirations and range from sociopolitical influences to identity that indicate the actuality — accurately serving as a repository where evidences of the now will be stored for posterity” the statement from Artpedia Gallery said.
Artpedia Gallery, which was established in November 2020 by Onomen “Nomzky” Onohi, a familiar name amongst the Nigerian music scene as well as an avid collector of art will through this exhibition, the first in the Artpedia gallery space, officially launch it into the art community and sector.
