Artist Database

Bruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya (Nigerian, 1932)

An innovative printmaker, painter and sculptor, Bruce Onobrakpeya was among the original eight members of the Zaria Art Society, formed in 1958 while Onobrakpeya was a student at the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology. The Society’s artistic and critical output, and the members’ ensuing careers, have had an immense impact on Nigerian art.

Onobrakpeya’s artworks have been included in a number of major international exhibitions including Contemporary African Art, the Museum of African Art, Washington DC, 1974; Seven Stories About Modern Art in Africa, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1995; Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis, Tate Modern, London, 2001. Onobrakpeya’s artwork is represented in numerous public collections worldwide including the Vatican Museum in Rome, the National Museum of African Arts, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC and the British Museum, London.

Onobrakpeya has been recognised with a number of prestigious awards including the Living Human Treasure Award given by UNESCO in 2006, the Nigerian Creativity Award by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2010, and an Honourary Degree of Doctor of Arts from the Delta State University in 2017.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lampert C, Havell J (eds) (1995) Seven Stories About Modern Art in Africa. London: Whitechapel Gallery
Kasfir S.L. (2000) Contemporary African Art. London: Thames and Hudson

Biography courtesy of Circle Art Gallery.