By Precious Adesina
When looking for emerging artists making extraordinary work, there is often no better place to start than with the opinions of other more established artists. Frieze discovered this last year through the success of its Artist-to-Artist initiative, which saw six renowned artistic figures, including Tracey Emin and Simone Leigh, nominate the next generation of talent for solo exhibitions at the fair.
Frieze has brought Artist-to-Artist back this year, inviting another six leading artists—Hurvin Anderson, Lubaina Himid, Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Zineb Sedira and Yinka Shonibare—to put forward their selections. “All of our nominators have a longstanding commitment to supporting other artists in their own practice, through teaching, curating or setting up spaces to support artists,” says Frieze London’s director, Eva Langret, noting that for many this will be their fair debut. Here, the nominating artists tell The Art Newspaper about their choices.
Yinka Shonibare on Nengi Omuku
I met the Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku just over ten years ago when she was a student at Slade School of Fine Art, and I’ve been watching her progress ever since. Instead of working on canvas, she paints on Sanyan cloth, a traditional Yoruba fabric, where she creates beautiful images that combine aspects of Nigerian and Western heritage.
Growing up, Nengi worked with her mother, a florist and horticulturist, during school holidays, and she has brought this experience into her work in a multifaceted way. In her paintings, you can see nature, landscapes and figuration, referencing her upbringing, as well as the climate. Her figures are also somewhat anonymous looking because she doesn’t want them to have any pronounced racial features, allowing them to be seen more as universal people.
Nengi’s pieces are sometimes displayed unconventionally, too, with some hung away from the wall so viewers can walk around them. This gives people the opportunity to see the skill that goes into making these fabrics, breaking the boundaries between art and craft while also championing women’s work. In 2022, she went on an artists’ residency in Senegal, where she worked with women who weave such fabrics.
It’s important for people to see alternative perspectives, different stories, and different people. And as someone with an African British background, she has a voice that needs to be heard.
