Kingsley Ogwara (1975) studied his bachelors in Fine and Applied Arts at Delta State University in Abrake, Nigeria and resides and works from Luxembourg, where he is a well recognised painter and sculptor. His paintings as well as his sculptures in clay, stone, wood or metal consist of organic concave and convex forms, mostly (semi-)abstract and are inspired by African or European images and symbols.They center about human transformation and connection, about the freedom and harmony that can be found in the masses. As such they rather express a state of mind than an extensive narrative.

Harmonious masses are a repeating theme in Ogwara's paintings, born from his struggle for many years to find acceptance as an immigrant and black artist in a fairly closed white Western society. A search for a new belonging that was never fully satisfied, being caught between two quite different cultural identities. Unlike many, for Ogwara, masses of people are not a threat to the individual, but rather a warm blanket of belonging, of communal celebration, of individual freedom to be connected and accepted as you are.

Ogwara: “In our globalized world with its many issues, we each struggle individually to live our lives in a meaningful way. When we grow up, we build up our defenses, often based on fear and distrust, resulting from the inevitable hardships that life brings sometimes. However, life also brings unexpected compassion and new windows, and each hardship brings new insights, makes us reflect and grow. We all need to mature, overcome fear and distrust and open up our defenses to connect to each other, dare to be vulnerable to give and receive love. My works are about this transformation and interconnectedness.”

Ogwara's paintwork with knives in oil and acrylic on canvas are characterized by pointilistic abstract orchestrations of colors and rich textures, which seem to take on the form of masses of people. Ogwara typically hides his initial images behind these thick pointilistic pastiche layers, which creates a lot of depth and suggestion. In his latest Icon-series, he experiments with adding some figurative element by allowing the initial portraits to shine through. 

Ogwara has participated in many group and solo exhibitions, amongst others in Luxemburg, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Austria. He was awarded amongst others the prestigious bi-annual Prix Pierre Werner for his paintings as best artist in Luxembourg in 2016. At the Luxembourg Art Week 2019, he was nominated again with his sculptures for the Grand-Duc Adolphe award and in 2022 again for the Prix Pierre Werner, which granted him the titular membership of CAL as the first African member in its history. Last year, he showed for 6 months at the blockbuster exhibition “Gospel” at the historical CatharijneConvent museum in Utrecht (Netherlands). His paintings are included in collections all over the world.