As one of the standout portraits at the 2023 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Eclectica Contemporary presents a portrait of the late great political activist, Steve Bantu Biko, painted by the Nigerian artist, Ayogu Kingsley (born in 1994 in Enugu, Nigeria). Best known for his commissions for the White House, and thus, like Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley, an alumni of sorts, Ayogu Kingsley’s portrait is strikingly revisionist.

A dazzlingly colourful Afrocentric vision of a young man reclining in an ergonomically curved and piped brass chair, dressed head to toe in a collared black shirt and pants decorated with lurid butterflies. The background – which perhaps includes a bust of Martin Luther King? – is deliberately desaturated, boosting the focus on the painting’s subject.

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Eclectica Contemporary sees itself as an African gallery with an international vision. It showcases practices and materials from art history that push these boundaries and explore uncharted territories of representation, technique, and theory. Given this historical moment, in which Black Portraiture is proving a defining focus, Eclectica Contemporary is excited to announce their newly represented artist Ayogu Kingsley who, from his perspective, allows for greater introspection and reflection.

Source: Eclectica Contemporary.