Uzo Uzo

I am an Igbo man from Nigeria.

I make paintings using photographs, mixed-media and found objects. By abstraction, I find that my “primitive” expressionist movement reveals an inherent awkwardness, an ever-present trait that echoes our own vulnerabilities. I also consider movement as a metaphor for the ever-seeking person that I am today. I experienced and survived the almost annihilation of the Igbos of Nigeria, which is an ever-present theme in some of my work.

My paintings don’t always reference recognizable forms. The results are deconstructed to the extent that meaning is shifted and possible interpretation becomes multifaceted. By questioning the concept of movement, I create personal moments created by means of rules and omissions, acceptance and refusal, luring the viewer round and around in circles. I present everyday objects as well as references to texts, symbols, politics, history, architecture and Utopian constructivist designs that are juxtaposed with trivial objects of which some are altered or detached from their natural function. Categories are subtly reversed. I develop forms that do not follow logical criteria but are based only on subjective relationships and formal parallels, which incite the viewer to make new personal associations. My works demonstrate how life extends beyond its own subjective limits and often tells a story about the effects of global cultural interaction. It challenges the binaries we continually reconstruct between Self and Other, between our own ‘cannibal’ and ‘civilized’ selves.

BFA in Graphic Design from the University Nigeria, Nsukka and MFA Illustration Photography from Brooks Institute of Photography Santa Barbara CA. A filmmaker with three independent features to my credit.

Award of Excellence
2022 Citywide African American Artists.

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2022 Citywide African American Artists. A collaboration between the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the University Museum at Texas Southern University.

Neo Expressionism

expresionism, colors