Uzo Egonu's London
1 September 2004
The Museum of London celebrates Black History Month 2004 with a landmark exhibition of the international painter and printmaker Uzo Egonu.
Uzo Egonu's London is the first major exhibition of the work of this reclusive painter, since his death in 1996, offering a rare glimpse into his bold vision of London. Guest curated by Susan Okokon, Uzo Egonu's London, runs from 23 September 2004 to 9 January 2005.
Uzo Egonu, a British artist of Nigerian origin, came Britain in 1945 embarking upon a successful international career, joining the likes of Miro and Picasso, as Honorary Life Councillor for U.N.E.S.C.O. in 1983.
Egonu studied at Camberwell School of Art in the 1950’s, after having been originally been taught by African Master painters. His art challenges Western myths of the naïve African artists, and credits Africa as the crucible of modernism.
Born in the city of Onitsha, Uzo Egonu (1931-1996) was considered a child artistic prodigy, and sent to Britain at 13 to study art. His father, a progressive Chieftain and local administrator, believed that London offered greater opportunities for the development of Egonu’s talents, and an international stage.
In the 1960’s Egonu painted a series of London landmarks. One of the most exciting aspects of this work, is that much of what we may view as innovative and ‘modernist’, such as ‘birds eye’ view, circular composition, are in fact characteristics of Ibo artistic traditions.
Egonu’s London Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, and Trafalgar Square are evidence of a freshness of his vision, as these familiar sites dissolve into a kaleidoscope of patters, some symbolic, and others playful.
Uzo Egonu initiates a post-war British art discourse, embracing universal themes, of displacement, post colonialism, and Diaspora, and the realities of urban living. From the simple pleasures of a cup of coffee in solitude, to the struggles and hopes of dispossessed people in Exodus, these prints and paintings are bold, figurative, and combine exquisite patterning with strong colours.
This modernist master, has re-imagined, and re-interpreted London as a truly international city – This is Uzo Egonu’s London.