Obi Agwam
B.1999(Lagos, Nigeria)
Obi Agwam is a Nigerian New York based fine artist. Obi Agwam summarizes his emotional experiences and stories through his indistinct characters. Every artwork comes from a journal entry, each artwork serving as a visual summary for each writing. Instead of specific portraits of people, Obi blends features and backgrounds together to make a new style of portraiture with every piece. Exaggerated features, large smiles, grills, paired with flowers and sometimes stars create a new world where these characters inhabit. His works can be defined as surrealism, where the main topic is his identity and emotional state.
“In recent contemporary painting there has been a myriad of emphases centered around what the Black experience and identity looks like; less so how it feels. Agwam concentrates his practice on this concern, seeking to disclose oftentimes conflicting, complicated subtleties of experience when words are too difficult, or simply fall short.” -L.B, James Fuentes 2023