York’s Art of Protest Gallery is set to open an exciting exhibition to the public on the 28th of October with internationally acclaimed African artist Ben Ibebe.
Located on Walmgate, the gallery encourages urban contemporary conversations on environment, consumption, identity and the global audience.
Here, Ben Ibebe takes up residence at the gallery for 8 days of the 2 week solo show, his exhibition ‘Afrofuturism’ will feature a series of unique oil paintings with a textural quality which bridges both abstraction and sculpture via the ordered chaos of thick impasto style of painting.
The exhibition will display images of dense urban architecture, vibrant markets, tradition and romance in the context of African living.
Ben is setting up a temporary studio at the gallery where he will work as the exhibition takes place and will be available to meet if visitors call ahead.
Holding a B.A. in Visual Arts from the University of Port Harcourt, in Rivers State, Nigeria, Ben has held solo exhibits internationally with collectors in many countries, including the US, Germany, Canada, the UK, and Nigeria.
His paintings are highly figurative with women deliberately accorded prominent attention in his composition.
Ben explains: “The African woman is strong beautiful and flowery. They live in a male-dominated society, based on local cultural tradition with few rights and are at the receiving end of man’s activities and yet strive so hard to eke out and sustain a living.
“So, I celebrate them by weaving my composition around them most times in their hours of needs, joy, pain and other human activities. Recently, my fixation is on the effect of Western Attitudes, Globalisation, Human trafficking and Technology on the African woman.”
Commenting on the exhibition, Art of Protest Director Craig Humble, said: “We are excited to welcome Ben to the gallery, especially with it being our first exhibition with the artist in residence.
“We would encourage anyone to come down to the gallery to meet Ben and experience his artwork in person, the striking images of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage colliding with a globalised art world is breaking new ground in process and colour management.
“At Art of Protest, we want to showcase local, national and international artists to the people and visitors of York.”
Ben’s current work in the gallery can be viewed on the Art of Protest website.
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