Iké Udé (b. 1964) is New York based, Nigerian born artist. He has lived in New York City, New York in the US for over 4 decades during which time he has earned the reputation as a master portraitist. His work deals with issues of varied forms of representations. Udé gives conceptual aspects of performance and representation a new vitality, melding his own theatrical selves and multiple personae with his art.
Solo exhibitions include (Upcoming) Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL (2026); (Upcoming) Amazing Graces: Portraits of Eminent African American Women, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits, Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C. (2022-2023); Iké Udé: Select Portraits, NSU Art Museum, FL (2021-2022); Nollywood Portraits: A Radical Beauty, Alliance Français de Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria (2019); Iké Udé: Style & Sympathies, Leila Heller Gallery (2013); Self: New Photographs, Stux Gallery, New York, NY (2011); Paris Hilton: Fantasy and Simulacrum, Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway (2009); Paris Hilton: Fantasy and Simulacrum, Stux Gallery, New York, NY (2008); Other Rooms Other Voices, Stefan Stux Gallery, New York, NY (2002); Other Aspects, Fifty One Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium (2002); Mauve & Sympathy Series, Arco Special Project Room, curated by Octavio Zaya (2002); Recess, MC Magma Gallery, Milan, Italy (2001); Other Aspects, Fifty One Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium (2001); Beyond Decorum: The Photography of Iké Udé, curated by Mark Bessire and Lauri Firstenberg, touring exhibition: Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME; MAK Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria; Oboro Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada; Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center, Harvard University Art Museums, MA; University of California at Riverside, California Museum of Photographer, CA (2000-2002); Subject to Representation, curated by Kevin Gibbs, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1997); Celluloid Framed, Wessel O’Connor Gallery, New York, NY (1995).
Group exhibitions include Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (2025); Holiday Show: Deck the Wall, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, NY (2024);Intersect 21, Leila Heller Gallery (2021); Intersect Chicago 2020, Leila Heller Gallery (2020); EXPO Chicago, Leila Heller Gallery (2016); Disguise: Masks and Global African Art, Brooklyn Museum (2016); Summer Selects, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, NY (2014); Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum, Providence, RI (2013); The Global Africa Project, Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY (2010-2013); The Mask and the Mirror, curated by Shirin Neshat, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, NY (2011); Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic System in African Art, National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC (2011); Big Bad Love, Stux Gallery, New York, NY (2011); INCOGNITO, curated by Elsa Longhauser, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA (2011); Six Degrees of Separation, Stux Gallery, New York, NY (2006); Beyond Desire, curated by Philippe Pirotte, Momu-Fashion Museum, Antwerp, Belgium (2005); The Triennial, Haifa Museum, Israel (2003); Make Life Beautiful! A Major New Exhibition and Publication on Dandyism, Brighton Photo Biennial, UK (2003); Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY (2003); Chic Clicks: Creativity and Commerce in Contemporary Fashion Photography, exhibition tour: ICA Boston; Kunstmuseum Winterthur; MAK Vienna; Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg; Fashion Museum Kobe, Japan (2002-2003); A Doll’s House, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Norway (2002); Hotter Than July, Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, exhibition tour: Insititute of Contemporary Art, Portland; MAK Contemporary Art, Vienna; Oboro Contemporary Art, Montral; Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center, Harvard University Art Museums, MA; University of California at Riverside, California Museum of Photography, CA (2000-2002).
Highlights & Collections
Artsy ranked Iké Udé, one the Ten Masters of Self-Portrait, along with Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Warhol. Udé was the publisher of the seminal aRUDE print magazine. He has made the coveted Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List four times (in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2022 when he was inducted into their International Best Dressed Hall of Fame). And was one the keynote speakers for the 2017, TEDtalk Global, on Africa, held in Arusha, Tanzania. Udé’s work is in the permanent collections of top museums worldwide including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Smithsonian Institution and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.