‘Private Collection’ presented to Abuja public

The book, edited by Spanish Architect and Director of the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art Jess Castellote, features paintings and sculptural pieces by Nigerian artists now owned by art collectors in Lagos. According to Castellote, the book is not an inclusive and cannot be as there are restrictions such as the base of the […]

The book, edited by Spanish Architect and Director of the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art Jess Castellote, features paintings and sculptural pieces by Nigerian artists now owned by art collectors in Lagos.

According to Castellote, the book is not an inclusive and cannot be as there are restrictions such as the base of the artists and collectors. “The book is on collectors in Lagos and artists working in Nigeria. It showcases works produced twenty five years before we started the book project; works not older than 1985 of about eighty artists in the private collection of forty collectors.”

Castello added that a history of art collecting in Nigeria is still to be written. “Though Africa is becoming more and more fashionable in global art circles, little scholarly attention has been paid so far to art collecting in Nigeria, arguably, one of the most important art centres on the continent.”

Sponsor of the publication and one of Nigeria’s major art collectors Mr. Sammy Olagbaju said he was motivated to be a part of the project because art is one of the things Nigeria does best, currently. Although exhibiting works of collectors is a major form of sharing collection, Olagbaju explained that the book is another way to see the vast collection in private hands.

Olagbaju also chairman of the Visual Arts Society of Nigeria (VASON) said, “Contemporary Nigerian Art in Lagos Private Collections dispels the myth that Nigerians do not collect art or patronise artists. There is, indeed, an art collectors’ tribe in Nigeria.”

Published by Bookcraft Limited, the catalogue features over two hundred and fifty works. ‘Contemporary Nigerian Art in Lagos Private Collections: New Trees in an Old Forest’ has been described as an affirmation in the discovery that, the Lagos art scene is as significant as the global art scene and maybe more.

The event, which was in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy, Abuja, brought together art enthusiasts and people from other walks of life.