Accrochage

Sakhile&Me is pleased to present Accrochage, a selection of works from the gallery's 2019 exhibition program including paintings by Osi Audu and Kevin Demery as well as sculptural installations by Nnenna Okore and Ghizlane Sahli. The exhibition runs from 7 January to 8 February, 2020.

Osi Audu's practice focuses on abstract art that retains some figurative elements in his geometric acrylic paintings in two colours and monochromatic grey and black drawings. Following the Yoruba concept of Ori Inu ("the inner head"), his works - most of them displaying portraits of the self - draw attention to the artist's focus on the head as a signifier of consciousness and as an object of self-knowing. Audu received his BFA from the University of Ife (Nigeria) in 1980 and his MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia in Athens (USA) in 1984.

Kevin Demery's works explore the interplay between North American history and signifiers of power, developing a painterly language that invites us to move between the potent aesthetic of his work and recurring motifs of historical violence, surveillance and childhood trauma. His paintings show photo cut outs on the background of geometric color blocks with objects hanging from ropes or chains draped over the canvas, thereby merging the two-dimensional with the three-dimensional. Kevin Demery is a 2014 BFA graduate of the California College of the Arts and a 2018 MFA graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Nnenna Okore is a sculptor, painter and environmentalist whose nature-inspired fiber sculptures and clay on foam-board paintings marked the inaugural exhibition at Sakhile&Me. Okore's works boast intricate textures and vibrant colors referencing organic elements such as plants, roots, or veins and explore themes of transience and transformation. Okore has received fine arts degrees from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and the University of Iowa and is currently Chair of the Art Department at North Park University in Chicago.

Ghizlane Sahli's art practice is deeply inspired by her background in architecture and embroidery and her interest in environmental sustainability. The artist creates her pieces in bright red, black and white silk-thread and weaves the individually wrapped pieces and spiraling parts into intricate sculptural designs, arranged into both abstract and recognizable forms and referencing organic matter such as coral reefs, hives and bodily organs.