About
Osaretin Ugiagbe (b. 1986, lagos, Nigeria) is a multidisciplinary artist working both as a painter and fine art photographer. Mr Ugiagbe recently earned his Master of Art degree from the Royal College of Art, London. His work seeks to reconcile his life long relationship with the urban settings which has directly or indirectly influenced his work. As he investigates time and process in regards to a life lived across major cities.
Ugiagbe has been reviewed and published by the New York Times, Financial Times London among others
Mr Ugiagbe has exhibited at The Bronx Documentary Center, Bronx Museum of Art, Photoville and De Cacaofabriek in Helmond, Netherland among others. His work is in many private collections nationally and internationally and in public institution such as the Museum of Fine Art Houston.
Artist Statement
Osaretin Ugiagbe's work investigates time and process in regard to a life lived across major cities; Lagos, Nigeria, New York, London, and now Baltimore. This first-hand experience could be witnessed in his current body of work. The Nigerian-born Artist is currently interested in documents, language, binding and physical labor and how they’ve shaped cultures. The techniques Ugiagbe developed during his time at the Royal College of Art are an incandescent example of arduous work; it involves the disintegration and layering of paper and sometimes found objects. The vagueness of the artist's materials and their functionality in relation to Art history, especially Painting, and Sculpture. It requires the task of painting, drawing, folding, binding, ripping, cutting and layering of materials be it found objects, paper, or canvas, all held together by metal clamp. The artist adopted the use of "metal clamp(s)” in 2017 from his revisits to East street market in south London. A device universal in its functionality to hold work in place. A device that could also be noticed on the stalls of local tradespeople both here in London, New York, and even in his hometown Lagos to hold things such as canopy in place. As he attempts to recreate paintings informed by personal memories, memorabilia and places visited. His work seeks to reconcile his lifelong relationship with the urban landscapes, which many of the artifacts in his work appeared to seek inspiration from. With his ongoing interest in portraiture, Ugiagbe's aim is to consistently attack and re-address the tradition of portraiture
In photography, Ugiagbe has been placed with the likes of Robert Adams...
Mr. Ugiagbe has exhibited at The Bronx Documentary Center, Bronx Museum of Art, Bronx Art Space, Photoville, and Longwood Art Gallery among others. His work is in many private collections nationally and internationally and in public institutions such as the Museum of Fine Art Houston. And has been reviewed and published by the New York Times, Financial Times London...