NEW YORK—Working with found objects, Osaretin Ighile creates layered, conceptual works. A selection of his mixed-media sculptures is on view at the Skoto Gallery booth at the VOLTA NY show.
The gallery describes Ighile’s work thus: “His work is informed by a sophisticated discourse on traditional philosophical concepts, a deep understanding of the aesthetic and cultural character of the African continent as well as an invigorating inclination and facility with various materials and methods.
“By inventively handling his material with a formalist sculptural framework, combined with a highly developed experimental approach to making art, he creates work that is unorthodox, persistently innovative, and ignores boundaries between different cultural heritages and socially constructed constraints.”
Born in Benin City, Nigeria, Ighile lives and works in Brooklyn.
VOLTA NY runs from March 7 to March 10, 2013 at 82 Mercer in Soho.
All photos © Arts Observer
The sight of President Obama’s disembodied head is a bit disconcerting. While the visual may be unsettling, Ighile, who was on hand at the Skoto Gallery booth on Thursday, said “Obama,” his incredibly detailed work composed of scraps of cardboard, is purely aesthetic, not symbolic or metaphoric.
(Ighile created a similar work depicting filmmaker Wood Allen in 2012 called “Woody Allen-Made in Africa.”)
“Oba Ovonramwen of Benin,” 2011 (plastic, metal, wood).
The artist used old crates he found around Benin City to build the colorful “skirt.”
Detail of “Oba Ovonramwen of Benin.”
“Deities,” 2011 (rope on steel armatures).
“Obama,” 2010 (paper, glass, metal, leather, wood).
Alternative view, “Obama.”
Ighile needs to publicize his work more. Deities is an increidibly innovative sculpture. Obama head should catch the attention of media.