INTRODUCTION
Like many artists, I started creating art from a young age. The support of family, the admiration of others, the opportunity to freely express as well as the pocket money that art earned me would encourage me as a teenager to take it more seriously.
Effectively, my professional artistic career has seen the creation of about 80 paintings and 25 sculptures. A fourth of these are in private and family collections in Nigeria. I currently retain about half of my artworks, while the remaining pieces are in private and public collections in Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
As you will discover, my paintings are distinctly colourful yet also subdued. I am of the school of colourism, simplism, didacticism, figurative, abstract and contemporary art. I paint unconventionally with improvised cups and bottles, often pouring and spreading paint on canvas with different levels of control. This self-developed technique results in my three ecstatically distinct groups of paintings. I paint mostly with acrylic, especially since 2017.
Generally, I am inspired by my experiences, by people, events, life [and death], the world around and within me, the past and the future. I love stories and I enjoy telling many through colours.
UYI NOSA-ODIA, UNO
I am a Nigerian Luxembourg-based artist. Born and raised in Benin City, I learned to sculpt before going to study painting and general art at Auchi Polytechnic, Nigeria 2006. I further studied banking and finance at the University of Benin, Nigeria 2014. I earned a certificate in Economics and Informatics from the Ukhta State Technological University, Russia 2016.
In 2015, I fled my home country to Europe in after surviving a double headshot in an assassination attempt in October 2014. Since arriving in Luxembourg in 2017, I have established myself as a versatile artist with more than 20 solo and group exhibitions to my credit in Luxembourg and other countries. As a self-exiled Nigerian artist, I mostly dedicates my art to socio-cultural related topics and projects.
My works and art projects have been shown in both notable public institutions and in galleries. Some of these include: the Nigeria National Museum, Lagos; the Larochette Castle, Larochette; the Luxembourg Central Train Station, Luxembourg; and the Chambre des Salariés, Luxembourg. I am also the founder of Lëtz Art, a Luxembourg non-profit organisation dedicated to creating, implementing and supporting social art projects for public benefit. Whereas, I work as a business consultant and ICT manager for Touchpoints, a Luxembourg non-profit organisation supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs with low social capital.
"I paint to play, to love and to speak. I make art to live my imaginations, curiosity, doubts and beliefs"
My works and I have been the subject of more than 10 media publications including news articles, video documentary, radio interviews, TV broadcasts, audio podcasts and news blogs. Notable among them are the Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany, RTL, Luxembourg; Tageblatt, Luxembourg; Le Quotidien, Luxembourg, The Us People Podcast, UK.
Download my artist portfolio for more (PDF 16MB)
PROJECTS
Besides the usual participation in thematic and open group or solo exhibitions, I favour creating art projects with specific themes involving the creation of bodies of artworks dedicated entirely to the given theme of the projects. A review of some of my recent art projects can be seen below.
THE JUJU PEOPLE
Ongoing
A contemporary painting project I started in 2022 to reclaim and reimagine African religious beliefs and identities. It consists of the creation of several paintings from research drawn from books, artefacts, historical records and modern-day practice of juju (African religion) in Edo, Nigeria.
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Time is TBDLocation is TBD
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This website is updated periodically. It is my intention to use it to inform, promote and archive artworks and artistic activities carried out by me and shown herein.
All inquiries regarding information, media content or artworks shared herein should be forwarded directly to me through the contact details provided.
For lease, purchase, reproduction, representation, press coverage, distribution, collaboration, exhibition participation, please contact me directly.
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Uyi Nosa-Odia
Luxembourg | uyi@artbyuno.com | Tel: +352 661 140 619