VICTOR EKPUK
Born 1964 in Nigeria.
Lives and works in Washington, DC.
Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk takes the ancient Nigerian script Nsibidi as a starting point for his own abstract visual language. He considers drawing a fundamental aspect of his art practice, which also includes painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture, installation, and public art projects. His art began as an exploration of traditional graphics and writing systems in Nigeria and has evolved to embrace a broader spectrum of meaning rooted in African and global contemporary art discourses. Guided by the aesthetic philosophy nsibidi, where sign systems are used to convey ideas, Ekpuk re-imagines graphic symbols from diverse cultures to form a personal style of mark-making that lives in the interstices of art and writing. According to the artist, “The subject matter of [his] work deals with the human condition explained through themes that are both universal and specific: family, gender, politics, culture, and identity.
Victor Ekpuk, Touch, 2011, Ink and pastel on paper, 40 x 40 in
Victor Ekpuk, Head of State, 2011, Graphite and pastel on paper, 48 x 60 in
Victor Ekpuk, “And Those Who Were Dancing Were Thought To be Insane By Those Who Could Not Hear Music" after Nietzsche, 2018, Ink and collage and graphite on paper, 19.5 x 23 in
Victor Ekpuk, If I Could Read Your Mind, 2018, Ink and collage and graphite on paper, 19.5 x 23 in
Victor Ekpuk, Ruby, 2018, Ink and paper, 18 x 22 in
Victor Ekpuk, Found Green, 2018, Ink and paper, 18 x 22 in
Victor Ekpuk, Morning Prayer 2, 2016, Ink and paper, 18 x 22 in
Victor Ekpuk, Santa Fe Sunset (From the Santa Fe suite), 2013, Ink on paper, 49 x 38 in
Victor Ekpuk, Mickey On Broadway, 2014, Found objects on wood panels, 84 x 36 in each
Victor Ekpuk, The Prophet, 2019, Powder coated steel, 28 x 36 x 6 in
Victor Ekpuk, The Politician, 2018, Powder coated steel, 28 x 36 x 6 in
Victor Ekpuk, The Prophet, 2019, Powder coated steel, 28 x 36 x 6 in
Victor Ekpuk, Woman Dancing in the Mirror, 2019, Powder coated steel, 28 x 36 x 6 in
Victor Ekpuk, Woman in the Mirror, 2019, Powder coated steel, 28 x 36 x 6 in
Victor Ekpuk, Composition in Blue 1, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 48 in
Victor Ekpuk, Composition in Blue 2, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 48 in
Victor Ekpuk, Composition in Red 1, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 48 in
Victor Ekpuk, Composition in Red 2, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 48 in
Victor Ekpuk, Untitled 1, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 96 x 104 in
Victor Ekpuk, Untitled 3, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 96 x 69.5 in
Victor Ekpuk, Composition in Black 1, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 48 in
Victor Ekpuk, Composition in Black 2, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 66 x 48 in
The Phillips Collection is marking its 100th anniversary with a new graphic installation by D.C. based artist Victor Ekpuk. FOX 5's Gwen Tolbart spoke to the artist about his work, which was inspired by ancient Nigerian script.
Ekpuk’s scribbling from the mid-1990s similarly oscillates between transparency and secrecy. Some signs may be familiar to those with a basic knowledge of nsibidi, other African ideographic systems, Nigerian current affairs, and global popular culture, while others come tantalizingly close but ultimately refuse to reveal themselves and supply any specific meaning to the narrative.
The lobby [of the Kimpton Banneker in Washington DC] also features an abstract mural by Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk in addition to work from Aziza Claudia Gibson-Hunter, a co-founding member of Black Artists of DC.
Ekpuk, a Nigerian American artist, painted a mural for a new gallery, Arts of Global Africa, in March 2017. His art is inspired by nsibidi, a sacred means of communication among male secret societies in southeastern Nigeria. Evolving out of the graphic and writing systems of nsibidi, Ekpuk’s art embraces a wider spectrum of meaning to communicate universal themes.
2021-22 Sherman Fairchild Fellow Shiloah Coley speaks with Victor Ekpuk about the sociopolitical signs and symbols in his centennial commission.
Victor Ekpuk is internationally renowned for his paintings, drawings, and sculptures, which reimagine the ancient Nigerian communication system, Nsibidi, to create his own unique language of abstraction.
Conceived by world-renowned artist, Victor Ekpuk, the new landmark sculpture in the heart of the Diplomatic Area pays tribute to the Kingdom and reflects the changing face of a 40-year-old institution.
Victor Ekpuk's room-sized installation, "Shrine to Wisdom," invites visitors to sit and learn, while immersed in one of his signature murals, which is based on an ancient writing system
One of the best ways to see the Washington, D.C.-based Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk's large chalk mural at the North Carolina Museum of Art is to turn your back on it and look around the rest of the gallery it's in.
