Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

REWA
ezinne The Good Mother

2024

$11,000
£8,271.11
€9,604.77
CA$15,361.27
A$17,036.78
CHF 8,946.88
MX$209,223.83
NOK 113,259.06
SEK 106,804.81
DKK 71,662.14
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

REWA says of her work… Viewers largely label me under “Contemporary African Art”. I label my work as Igbo Vernacular Art. The reason for this is that I believe that I have created a truly original body of work that exists outside formal academic or Western dialogue. My art is drawn from life itself and deeply anchored in a place and culture from which it was derived. This is the Igbo culture pertaining to the Igbos of Nigeria. I think that this description is more accurate as it implies a unique iteration of customs and tradition, bound to a particular location and a particular people.  Igbo Vernacular Art is not to be mistaken with Folk Art, but rather, concerns itself with an expressive aesthetic that would be more commonly associated with Contemporary of Modern Art; form, composition and narrative. Vernacular dialects are anchored to a particular land, and in much the same way, my art contains a vocabulary that is built on a strong sense of place and is situated in a location and a history.  It is my hope that one day, my work will be included in art historical dialogue about Africa and specifically Nigeria, beyond the confines of the wide-reaching Contemporary African Art designation. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ REWA was born and raised between Nigeria and England and received a BSc. in Physiology and Pharmacology from University College London (UCL). She previously worked as the Head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations for a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed company. Prior to this, she was the Specialty Insurance Executive for Old Mutual West Africa and a Management Consultant at Accenture (UK). Never having received formal art training, she is self-taught and developed her innate talent from a very early age. Growing up, her father encouraged her creative drive, his expansive art collection from West Africa, providing further impetus for her development. Her formal training as a physiologist / pharmacologist at UCL also prepared her for what has become an exciting journey; she learned to observe in greater detail and to seek deeper meaning. She knew a few truths about what ignited a frenzy - when going for long stretches creating art with a particular song or artist playing on a continuous loop - but still sought a clear “artistic direction". She finds that her spirit is moved by what she refers to as "depicted sentience" and through the celebration of the female form and bright, vivid colours. Her preferred medium of acrylics and watercolours on cartridge paper provides the immediacy, proximity and transparency to express her most personal experiences and influences living between Lagos, London and Johannesburg, cities she considers home. REWA decided to pursue art as a form of catharsis following a nadir. She created her first 14-piece body of work, The Pantheon, celebrating Nigerian deities which was very well received and led to her appointment as ReLe Gallery’s 2017 Young Contemporary in Lagos, Nigeria. In this same year, the prestigious Gallery of African Art (GAFRA) in Mayfair, London invited REWA to participate in a joint exhibition, Her Story: Sisterhood That Transcends, alongside a acclaimed Dutch photographer, Dagmar van Weeghel. Her collection, Onicha Ado N’Idu delved into the significance of naming rites and traditions within the Igbo culture in Nigeria – how the names shape the identity of the individuals they are bestowed upon. REWA’s work was featured at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn, New York as part of MoCADA’s annual 2017 gala. Most recently, she participated in the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery’s No Dead Artists 22nd Annual show in New Orleans, USA. REWA’s artwork represents and glorifies women in our numerous forms; as goddesses, as travelers and most recently, as inexorable forces behind naming rites of the Igbo culture. She has finally found her truth in a voice that is unique to her, one that has induced prolonged frenzies and abundant hours of introverted happiness and zen. For REWA, art creation is synonymous with catharsis and her creations are her life's diary.
  • Creator:
    REWA (1987, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2024
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 48 in (121.92 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New Orleans, LA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU105216128492

More From This Seller

View All
amaka Beauty
By REWA
Located in New Orleans, LA
REWA says of her work… Viewers largely label me under “Contemporary African Art”. I label my work as Igbo Vernacular Art. The reason for this is that I believe that I have created a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

Yanna
Located in New Orleans, LA
Kiara Aileen Machado is a contemporary artist born in Lynwood, California who depicts and explores the construction of identity, familial lineage, intergenerational trauma and cultur...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

kambili - Let Me Live
By REWA
Located in New Orleans, LA
The artist says of her artwork... Viewers largely label me under “Contemporary African Art”. I label my work as Igbo Vernacular Art. The reason for this is that I believe that I have...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

nwunye onye Freedom
By REWA
Located in New Orleans, LA
REWA says of her work… Viewers largely label me under “Contemporary African Art”. I label my work as Igbo Vernacular Art. The reason for this is that I believe that I have created a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

anwuli ⏐ Joy
By REWA
Located in New Orleans, LA
REWA says of her work… Viewers largely label me under “Contemporary African Art”. I label my work as Igbo Vernacular Art. The reason for this is that I believe that I have created a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Archival Paper

Mothers Day
Located in New Orleans, LA
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Brandon V. Lewis is the product of a single mothers love and dedication and the beneficiary of the hard work and strong convictions of his grandpa...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

You May Also Like

Awelewa (Zuri)
By Roseleen Labazacchy,
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Beauty is a light in the heart. Painting Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenti...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Mixed Media

Materials

Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic

Woman
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Canvas, Acrylic

Woman
$9,400
Free Shipping
Queen Eniola
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Queen Eniola" is a stunning portrait of an African queen created by the Nigerian artist, Theophilus Madaki. The painting depicts Queen Eniola, a pow...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Elegance - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Women, Love, Fashion, Modern
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Life is about give and take, we should not be like the Dead Sea which keeps receiving but not giving back. Let's make good friends, let's impact each other positively. About Artist Emmanuel Ibitoye hails from Aiyedun in the Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State Nigeria. He developed an interest in art right from primary school. He further fuelled his passion for art at Osi Central Secondary School, Osi. He proceeded to Osun State College of Education Ila-Orangun where he studied fine and Applied art from 2012 to 2015. He is an Art Educator and a multi-media painter who uses his art to address issues such as environmental decadence, culture, and racism. He believes that art is a tool that can be used to bring about environmental and human sanity, cultural integration, and the breaking of racial barriers. He uses his art to project the black race in a dignified manner, he is the exponent of Neo- black Renaissance...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

She Tarries
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"She Tarries," a captivating artwork by Ife Kalejaiye, invites viewers into a moment of contemplation and introspection. At the focal point of the compos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Oil

Arike
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Arike," an artwork crafted by Alabi Azeez, is a mesmerizing portrayal of femininity, strength, and resilience. The title itself, which translates to "someone to cherish" in the Yoru...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic