Nengi Omuku (b.1987, Nigeria) has completed both her BA and MA at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. Omuku’s work is inspired by the politics of the body and the complexities that surround identity and difference. With every journey, she considers how human beings position themselves in space in relation to other beings. Foremost on her mind are the ways in which the body needs to adapt in order to belong. It is constantly selecting and gathering its identity, mentally, physically and emotionally.
Solo Exhibitions include (Upcoming) Kasmin Gallery, New York, USA; (Upcoming) Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA (2023); Parbles of Joy, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, UK (2022); Chorus, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin (2021); Gathering, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2020); Stages of Collapse, September Gray, Atlanta (2017); A State of Mind, The Armory Show, New York (2016); A State of Mind, Omenka Gallery, Lagos (2015); To Figure an Encounter, Open The Gate, London (2011).
Group Exhibitions include (Upcoming) Aso Oke: Prestige Cloth from Nigeria, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA (2023); Rites of Passage, Gagosian, curated by Péjú Oshin, London, UK (2023); Chaos:Calm, Bangkok Art Biennale, Bangkok, Thailand (2022); Tiwani Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria (2022); Uprising - Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2022); Dissolving Realms, Kasmin Gallery, New York, USA (2022); What Lies Beneath: Women, Politics, Textiles, New Hall Art Collection, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge (2022); Self-Addressed, curated by Kehinde Wiley at Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, USA (2021); World Trade Organisation, Headquarter, Geneva, Switzerland (2021); The Invincible Hands, Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos, Nigeria (2021); Karim Kal and Nengi Omuku, La Galerie, Contemporary art Center, Noisy-le-Sec (2021); Facing The Sun, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery at Schloss Görne, Germany (2021); Dancing in Dark Times, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, UK (2021); All the Days and Nights, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2020); Untitled Art San Francisco, with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, San Francisco (2020); 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London (2019), Hospital Rooms, Griffin Gallery, London (2018); At work, Arthouse, Lagos (2018); ARTX, Lagos (2017); Commotion, 1:54, London (2017); Mapping Histories, Constructing Realities, ART15, London (2015); The Next 50 Years, Omenka Gallery, Lagos (2014) and Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition, Jerwood Gallery, London (2012).
Highlights and Collections
In 2023, Nengi Omuku has been awarded the Civitella Raneiri Residency in Italy (April-June 2024). In 2022 Nengi was also awarded a residency at the Black Rock Senegal (2022-2023). Nengi Omuku’s artistic practice has won scholarships and awards, including the British Council CHOGM art award presented by HM Queen Elizabeth II. Commissions include from the Arts Council England to paint a mural in an intensive care psychiatric ward at the Maudsley Hospital, London. In addition, in 2021, Omuku received a World Trade Organisation Residency organised by African Art Foundation in Geneva. Omuku’s work can be found in international private and public collections, such as HSBC Art Collection, the Bunker Artspace Museum, Loewe Art Collection, Monsoon Art Collection, Easton Capital Collection, Azman Museum; Dawn Art Collection; Women's Art Collection, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge; The ICA Miami Collection; The Whitworth Collection and The Baltimore Museum of Art Collection.