NNENNA OKORE

Nnenna Okore.
Photo: © the Artist, 2014.

Nnenna Okore’s intricate works contain rich textures, and reveal extraordinary manifestations of colour and formations, often resembling organic elements in nature, such as roots, veins, and flora. Each visceral sculpture is created through various repetitive and labour-intensive processes, like teasing, twisting, dyeing and sewing, applied to natural materials such as cheesecloth, burlap and paper.

Okore is a Professor of Art at North Park University, Chicago. She has a BA in Painting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and both an MA and MFA from the University of Iowa. Okore first showed at October Gallery in 2008. She is a 2012 Fulbright Award recipient and has exhibited internationally. Her works have been featured in several important exhibitions such as Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA; We Face Forward, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK; Africa Africans, Museu Afro Brasil, Sao Paulo, Brazil; and When the Heavens Meet the Earth, The Heong Gallery, Cambridge, UK. In 2018, her major installation Sheer Audacity, was exhibited at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, USA. Her work is in many international collections, including the World Bank, Washington DC, USA; Newark Museum, New Jersey, USA; Fondation Blachere, France; and the Embassy of the United States, Abuja, Nigeria.

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View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.

NNENNA OKORE Items From Our Store

Career Highlights

Anyanwu Abani, 2007.

Ulukububa, 2008.

Sample Material, 2008.

Emissaries, 2009.

When the Heavens Meet the Earth, 2011.

Ashoebi II, 2008.

Rope, 2008.

Shield Me, 2008.

Selected Works

Ethereal Beauty, 2017.

Ihe Di Ife, 2017.

On the Long Run, 2017.

Things That Meet the Eye, 2017.

Aged Newness, 2014.

Akwara Ochie, 2014.

Beneath the Surface, 2014.

Hide, 2014.

Ona Edo, 2016.

Would We Ever know?, 2011.

Unleashed, 2017.

Never Hurry the Sunrise, 2013.

NNENNA OKORE

Born in 1975, Australia, raised mainly in Nsukka, Nigeria. Lives and works in Chicago, USA.
Education
2005		Ph.D. Fine Art, Monash University, Australia
2005		M.F.A. Sculpture, University of Iowa, USA
2004		M.A. Sculpture, University of Iowa, USA
1999		B.A. Painting, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Selected solo exhibitions
2024		Landfeels, O’Connor Art Gallery (Dominican University), Chicago, IL, USA Holding Space, The Bentway, The Betway Skate Trail, Toronto, Canada Earth Matters, Drake Gardens Albany Park, Chicago, IL, USA Chasing Butterflies in Harmattan, Sakhile&Me Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany
2023		Spirit Dance, Stanley Museum of Art, University of Iowa, IA, USA
2022		In/Flux, MADA Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Macroscopic Organisms, AKAA art fair, Paris, France Making Kin, Carlson Tower Gallery, Chicago, IL USA
2022		In/Flux, MADA Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Macroscopic Organisms, AKAA art fair, Paris, France Making Kin, Carlson Tower Gallery, Chicago, IL USA
2021		Bioplastic: Thing Power, B27 Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2020		Solo Booth, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa with Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt
2019		Plasmorganisms, Chicago Public Library, Albany Park Branch, Chicago, IL, USA
2018		Embodiment, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Germany
2017		Ụkwa Ruo Oge Ya Ọ Daa, - There’s a time for everything, October Gallery, London, UK Ùtútù, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT, USA Nnenna Okore: Osimili, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA Anima, CSPS, Legion Art Galleries, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
2016		Rotunda Projects: Nnenna Okore, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN, USA When all is said and done, Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, USA
2015		Nnenna Okore: Owu, Arrowhead Gallery, Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, IL,USA Nkata: An Installation by Nnenna Okore, Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, IL, USA On the Brink: New Work by Nnenna Okore, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL, USA
2014		Twist and Turns, David Krut Projects, New York, USA Nnenna Okore: Fiber of Being and African Textiles, Welch School of Art and Gallery, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA Unfound, Beard Art Center Gallery, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN, USA “Will you walk to the end of the earth with me”, Carlson Tower Gallery, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA
2013		Akaraka: What Will Be, Art Twenty One, Lagos, Nigeria
2012		Nnenna Okore: Transfiguration, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, USA
2011		Nnenna Okore: New Works, Herron School of Art and Design Gallery, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Shokoloko, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO, USA Metamorphoses, October Gallery, London, UK Torn Apart, David Krut Projects, New York, USA Nnenna Okore: On the Edge, Dittmar Memorial Gallery, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA Rush, Skidmore College Gallery, New York, USA
2010		Life After, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Evanston, IL, USA Recovered Energies, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA Absurd Beauty, Northeastern Illinois University Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2009		Strings and Patterns, Viberto University Gallery, La Crosse, WI, USA Anyanwu, Carl A. Fields Center for Equality Gallery, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA Twisted Ambience, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, USA Common Thread, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA Of Earth…Bark and Topography, Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
2008		Ulukububa - Infinite Flow, October Gallery, London, UK Moonlight Tales, Tall Grass Association, Park Forest, IL, USA Affrika West, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales, UK
2007		Reflection, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, US Sub-consciousness, Adam Hall Gallery, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, USA
2006		Trans-figuration, Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery, Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, IL, USA Betwixt and Between, Carlson Tower Gallery, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA
2005		Paper to Paper, Armature Art Gallery, University of Iowa, Iowa, USA
2004		Accumulations, Arts Iowa City, Iowa, USA
2003		Re-presented, Armature Gallery, University of Iowa, IA, USA .
2002		Beyond the Lines, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria.
2001		Metaphors, Alternative space, Lagos, Nigeria, Curator: Bisi Silver, London.

Selected group exhibitions
2025		Material Sensibilities, October Gallery, London, UK Public Matters, Public Art Abu DHabi (PAAD), Abu DHabi, UAE
2024		Climates and Carpets, Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan To Weave the Sky: Textile Abstractions from the Jorge M. Perez Collection, 23, Miami, FL, USA I am all the loves I have ever known, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Germany Voices from Abroad, Behncke Gallery, Munich, Germany Part of Art Basel Miami Beach Art Fair, Jenkins Johnson, Miami, FL, USA Neo-Custodians: Woven Narratives of Heritage, Cultural Memory and Belonging, Bemis Center, Omaha, NE, USA Right Is Right, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
2023		Unbridled Encounters, Walford Galleries, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, USA Intimations, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Germany Tapestry of Voices: The Poetic Dialogue Project, Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago, IL, USA Earthly Visions: Inside the Climate Crisis, Gallery 400, The University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA Narrative Threads: Fiber Art Today, Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA Fragments & Fabrications, Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR, USA To Build What We Become When We Dream, Queens Square Gallery, Cambridge Art Galleries, Ontario, Canada
2022		HerStory: Shaping History, Rele Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA Poetics of Material, Rele Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2021		Trauma, Triennale Brugge, Brugge, Belgium Ecological Co-Development, Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China Columned Hall Exhibition, Stoa169, Polling, Germany The Invincible Hands, Yemi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos, Nigeria Natural Materials, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA Podium II, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
2020		Atmospheres; Artists of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Prête-Moi Ton Rêve, Musée des Civilizations Noires, Dakar, Senegal 31: Women, Daimler Museum, Berlin, Germany Second Careers: Tributaries in African Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, USA
2019		Dream No Small Dream: Celebrating 40 Years of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Fuel for Thought, Art Exchange, University of Essex, Colchester, UK Dream No Small Dream: Celebrating 40 Years of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Fuel for Thought, Art Exchange, University of Essex, Colchester, UK Art + Identity, Browngrotta Art Gallery, Wilton, CT, USA Transformed: Paper in Dimension, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ, USA
2018		Dream No Small Dream: Celebrating 40 Years of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Abstract Minded: Works by Six Contemporary African Artists, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; N‘Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit, MI, USA
2017		Abstract Minded: Works by Six Contemporary African Artists, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit, MI, USA Shelter: Crafting a Safe Home, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PA, USA The Enlighteners, Fondation Blachère Collection, Palais des Papes; Musée du Petit Palais; Musée Calvet and Musée Lapidaire, Avignon, France Beyond Surface, Fashion Outlets of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA When the Heavens Meet the Earth, The Heong Gallery, Cambridge, UK Weather or Not, That is the Question, Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, USA
2016		La Mère \| La Mer, Moreau Art Galleries, St Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN, USA Standing Out, Temple Muse, Lagos, Nigeria Summertime…, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE, with Sakshi Gallery, Dubai, UAE Expo Chicago, Navy Pier, Chicago, with Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA Finding Shelter: An Exhibition of Contemporary Fiber Art, Baum Gallery, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR, USA artMRKT San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
2015		Exceptional: Handmade Paper Beyond Substrate, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN, USA Works from Around Our State, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL, USA Africa Africans, Museu Afro Brasil, Sao Paulo, Brazil Faculty Art Show, Brendel Library, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA
2014		Interwoven Histories, October Gallery, London, UK Brides of Anansi: Fiber and Contemporary Art, Spelman Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, USA African Origins, Morton Fine Art, Washington, D.C., USA Faculty Art Show, Brandel Library, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA
2013		Six Draughtsmen, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), New York, USA Biennale internationale du lin de Portneuf, Quebec, Canada no one belongs here more than you, Center for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria Textura, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
2012		Inside-Out, Outside-In, Visual Art Center Gallery, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA We Face Forward, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK (Re-) Cycles of Paradise, LACE Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2011		Transcending Integration, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD, USA Environment and Object: Recent African Art, Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, New York; Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
2010		As It Is: Contemporary Art from Africa & the Diaspora, The Mojo Gallery, Dubai, UAE Textiles, Fondation Blachère, Apt, France Scratch, Latit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE, with October Gallery, London, UK Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa, with October Gallery, London, UK (Re-) Cycles of Paradise, UNCOP16, UN Climate Change Conference, Spanish Cultural Center, Mexico City, Mexico 29th Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2009		(Re-) Cycles of Paradise, UNCOP15, DGI-byen, Copenhagen, Denmark Common Ground, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA In Progress, Carlson Tower Gallery, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE, with October Gallery, London, UK Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa, with October Gallery, London, UK Trash Menagerie, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, USA Paper to Pulp, Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD, USA Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Chance Encounters, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India Objects of A Revolution, Galerie Dominique Fiat, Paris, France Trace/Memory, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL, USA
2008		Angaza Africa, October Gallery, London, UK Affrika West, Artspace, Galeri Caernarfon, Caernafon, Wales, UK Channel4 Art Exhibition, Channel4/ Art4 Gallery, London, UK Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, USA Refabrication, Carlson Tower Gallery, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA Clay and Fiber, Woman Made Gallery (WMG), Chicago, USA Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa, with October Gallery, London, UK Trading Spaces, Binghamton University, New York, USA Moonlight Tales, Tall Grass Arts Association, Park Forest, IL, USA
2006		African Contemporary Art Exhibition, Dak’Art - Biennale de l’Art Africain Contemporain, Dakar, Senegal
2005		Twelfth SOFA International Exposition, The Navy Pier, Chicago, IL, USA Faculty Show, Carlson Tower Gallery, North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA 8th International Open Exhibition, Woman Made Gallery (WMG), Chicago, IL, USA
2003		Migrations, Legion Arts, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA Units, Legion Arts, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
2002		New Works, Armature Gallery, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
2001		New Energies, Nimbus Gallery; Mydrim Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
1999		B.A. Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Public commissions
2024		Together, We Belong Here, Illinois EPA Captial Development Board, IL, USA

Selected awards
2023		Threewalls Community Art Grant, Chicago, USA
2021		Creative Victoria Art Grant, Melbourne, Australia
2020		Monash M Pavilion Art Grant, Melbourne, Australia
2018		Individual Professional Development Grant, North Park University, Chicago, USA 2017 Research and Development Lab Award, Threewalls, Chicago, USA
2012		Fulbright Scholar
2011		Teaching Fellowship, Skidmore College, New York, USA
2008		North Park University Project Grant, Chicago, IL, USA
2007		UNESCO - Ashberg Fellowship for Artists, Gruber Jez Foundation, Mexico
2005		North Park University Project Grant, Chicago, IL, USA
2002		Graduate Assistantship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA Emma McAllister Novel Scholarship, University of Iowa, Iowa City,,IA,USA Teaching Assistantship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
1999		Valedictorian (Fine Arts), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
1994		First prize, UNIFEM Women’s Art Contest, Lagos, Nigeria
1993		First prize, UNICEF African Child’s Day Art Contest, Mbabane, Swaziland

Selected collections
Art House Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria;; Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, USA; Channel 4, London, UK; Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria; Halls Winery, St. Helena, CA, USA; Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Jean Paul Blachère Foundation, Bonnieux, France; Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Miami, FL, USA; Krannert Museum of Art, University of Urbana, Champaign, IL, USA; Kruizenga Art Museum, Hope College, Holland, MI, USA; Kuona Trust, Nairobi, Kenya; Mercedes Benz Art Collection, Stuttgart, Germany; Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, USA;; North Park University, Chicago, IL, USA; Renaissance Capital, Moscow, Russia; Royal Collection, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Sina Jina Collection, London, UK; Stanley Museum of Art, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; United States Embassy, Abuja, Nigeria; World Bank, Washington, D.C., USA;

NNENNA OKORE

Career Highlights

Selected Works

NNENNA OKORE

OCTOBER GALLERY ARTISTS