Victor Ekpuk: Drawing Metaphors at The Sawhill Gallery, Virginia

International Thu 08-09-2011

Victor Ekpuk: Drawing Metaphors at The Sawhill Gallery, Virginia
By a Correspondent

Award-winning Nigerian American artist Victor Ekpuk explores the relationships, challenges and responses to changes that characterize the human condition, in his latest exhibition Drawing Metaphors at The Sawhill Gallery, Virginia.

JMU Poster Victor Ekpuk

Victor Ekpuk's unique art is his use of the 'nsibidi' African system of writing that employs graphic signs and code to convey concepts

This solo exhibition continues Ekpuk's exploration of drawing as an independent genre that is not a support for painting, some of these drawings are realized in traditional media like pastel and graphite while others are through the digital process.

Unique to Ekpuk's art is his use of nsibidi, an indigenous African system of writing that employs graphic signs and code to convey concepts. The artist comments: "The basis for my style is inspired by ancient traditions of ideographic writing systems in Africa, where forms and ideas are reduced to their essence in order to convey concepts."

Victor Ekpuk

"In my compositions, the use of these arcane signs and invented pseudo-writings often evoke the idea of writing, where legibility and illegibility become metaphors," he continues.

"I have recently become fascinated with the idea of symbols within these ancient writing systems as objects, and this has led to a series of drawings in the 'composition series' that explore their visual aesthetics solely as abstract forms. In this body of work, I seek to let the arcane symbols guide me to a discovery of their timeless and universal aesthetics where metaphors are drawn beyond literal interpretations."

As he says, in his compositions, Ekpuk combines these nsibidi signs with contemporary symbols and invented pseudo-writings that evoke the idea of writing, where legibility and illegibility become metaphors.

Victor Ekpuk

This is definitely not an exhibition to be missed.

Victor Ekpuk: Drawing Metaphors runs from August 22 through to October 2, 2011.

A Public Lecture will be held on September 27 starting at 7 p.m, and will be followed thereafter by a Reception at 8:00PM, all happening at The Sawhill Gallery, James Madison University, 800 S. Main Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

For more information and to view more works from the series, please visit Sawhill Gallery.com. Find out more about Victor and his work from his website, Victor Ekpuk.com or contact him at vekpuk@gmail.com.

Posted By: Allan Kapten

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