Nnenna Okore

Born in Australia, 1975 and raised in Nigeria, Nnenna Okore has received international acclaim for her richly-textured sculptural forms and installations. She reconfigures organic or discarded materials into amorphous structures of extraordinary range and nuance. Okore is keenly sensitive to the rhythms and contours of everyday life. The repetitive acts of stitching, twisting, teasing, weaving, tying and dyeing; and the familiar sounds of sweeping, chopping, talking, and washing, all deeply inform her aesthetics, as they signal both the transience of human labor and its inevitable mark on the material world.<br />
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As a full-time academic and young mother who understands the challenges of thriving artistically in a male dominated field, Okore strives to maintain an active creative track record, as a means of inspiring young and upcoming artists hindered by cultural and gender barriers, around the globe. With a focus on female artists, she engages in workshops, panels, talks and mentoring activities targeted at empowering young artists, especially from West Africa.<br />
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Nnenna Okore is a Professor of Art at Chicago's North Park University, where she chairs the Art department and teaches Sculptural Practices. She earned her B.A degree in Painting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (First Class Honors) in 1999, and subsequently received her MA and MFA at the University of Iowa, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Added to numerous national and international awards, Okore is a 2012 Fulbright Award recipient. Her participation in over a hundred solo and group exhibitions combined in the last decade has earned her much recognition and accolade. She has upcoming exhibitions at Mattatuck Art Musuem, N'Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit, Jenkins Johnson Gallery and October Gallery, London. "Sheer Audacity', her latest installation is currently on view at Memphis Brook Museum of Art.<br />
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Source: www.nnennaokore.com