Victor Ekpuk

Victor Ekpuk (born 1964) is a Nigerian-born artist based in Washington, DC. Ekpuk came to prominence through his paintings and drawings, which reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and uli art forms.

Ekpuk’s work frequently explores the human condition of identity in society. It draws upon a wider spectrum of meaning that is rooted in African and global contemporary art discourses. In 1989 Victor received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree (BFA), Obafemi Awowolo University, Ife, Nigeria, where he first explored the aesthetic philosophies of Nsibidi. Its economy of lines and encoded meanings led him to further explore drawing as writing, and to the invention of Ekpuk’s own Glyphs.

His artworks are in private and public collections such as Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African Art, Newark Museum, The World Bank, University of Maryland University College, Hood Museum, United States Art in Embassies Art Collection and the Fidelity Investment Art Collection.

Ekpuk’s work have been featured at venues including: Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, Illinois; The Fowler Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York City; Newark Museum, New Jersey; The World Bank, Washington DC; Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African Art, Washington DC; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City; Johannesburg Biennial, South Africa.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2017 THESE MOMENTS, Morton Fine Art Washington DC, USA
2016 COMING HOME, Arthouse, the Space, Lagos, Nigeria
2016 PORTRAITS, Sulger Buel-Lovell Galery, London, UK
2015 Auto Graphics, Hood Museum, New Hampshire, USA
2014 Auto-Graphics, Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, Illinois, USA
2013 Reminiscences and Current Musings, Mortons Fine Art, Washington DC, USA
2013 Drawing Memories, Turchin Center for Art, Appalachian State University, N. Carolina, USA
2011 Drawing Metaphors, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA
2009 Of Lines and Life, The Richard F. Brush Gallery, University of St. Lawrence, Canton, New York
2009 Victor Ekpuk, Long View Gallery, Washington DC, USA
2006 Drawing From Within, Galerie 23, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2005 Storylines: Drawings of Victor Ekpuk, Montgomery College, College Park, Maryland, USA
2004 Trans/Script: The Art of Victor Ekpuk, Brandeis University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
200 Manuscript Series (Ancient Symbols/Contemporary Forms), Parish Gallery, Washington D.C., USA
1998 Songs, 18th Street Arts Complex, Santa Monica, California, USA (Sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation, UNESCO-ASCHBERG Bursaries for Artists and 18th Street Arts Complex International Circle)
1995 Windsongs, French Cultural Center, Lagos, Nigeria

and numerous group exhibitions.



Sources: Wikipedia, victorekpuk.com