On July 4, 2016, one of Nigeria’s in – demand painter, Duke Asidere opened his year again with an exhibition entitled “Mental Space” at one of the most prestigious hotels in Lagos, The Wheatbaker. This is a 38 piece presentation in paintings, drawings and sketches that are segmented into subtitle series like, Power Series, Faces, Signature forms and Sketches, all from the legendary painter who has seen and given it all to the art business in Africa. The panache in Duke Asidere’s offering is well established for scholars, researchers and aficionados to ponder about for a long time to come. A legacy is being established by a character so well loved by the industry he continues to serve as a teacher and a business man. Duke Asidere is an industry on his own with more collections and creations all around him. To become an industry like Duke Asidere? then start reading his mind and opinions. The exhibition is being curated by Sandra Obiago and supported and packaged by SMO Contemporary Art, The Wheatbaker and Louis Guntrum and runs till September 15, 2016. The quality of the artist can never be undermined, but the great lessons and advice he offers the young minds in his constituency is a great piece that needs to go round. From his big studio in Lagos and a drive around with him, Duke talked about the power of the artist voice, values and discipline to bring in the sunshine day.
The art house in Nigeria eagerly waited for the
opening of Nigerian painter, Duke Asidere’s latest exhibition entitled Mental
Space at The Wheatbaker hotel in Lagos. An exhibition that got opened
on July 4, 2016 and it is still ongoing till September 15, 2016. This arguably,
is one of the longest running shows in the country at the moment, but for Duke
and his team, coming out at this time at the prestigious Wheatbaker hotel is
enough testament of the quality of artist Duke Asidere is. After bagging a
first class in Fine Art and having his Master’s degree in Painting at the
Ahmadu Bello University, the 55year old artist and a father of three children
has been walking on the road of life to play his part and fulfill his mission.
Duke Asidere is a creative talkative. Sound mind
on oriental express, in fact, Duke is a Shakespearean painter, remember he
taught art history. But Duke is a teacher. A busy and very tolerant one who
gives and support at all fronts. Ever bubbly, even when there are challenges,
run to him and find succour in his studio. Somehow Duke’s exhibition anywhere
in the world will always look more like a party or a fiesta, because his art,
line of thought and patterns boldly deconstruct traditions. Duke Asidere is so élan.
‘Contemporary’ is a big word for a huge
personality like Duke Asidere. He sees it as a foreign ascent of some sort. It
is more of a distortion in transition for him, rather, he agrees individuals
should work hard and move with time. “My take is simple” he quips easily, “You
don’t need any one to believe in you. Work hard, pray for success and grace on
your ideas, when you succeed, people will start seeing you as an icon.” He
recalls when his ‘Play spot’ studio got burnt with finality, “This is the
beginning. We haven’t finished yet.” Yes, he is a confident character that
believes in his mission. Duke believes if life is a journey, then let’s live it
on.
Exhibition means so much to him and yet he agrees
you can move without it. “It is just for the artist to tell the world the
period he is. Consistency is the key for a serious artist. Duke gives support
all the time and honour invitations at exhibitions more than any of his
contemporaries and others. A weekend for him is a drive all over Lagos with his
Canon camera to pick any shot that is attractive to him. “Don Barber taught me
photography” he recalls. But he has always denied been a photographer, yet he
agrees the artist is the mirror of the society. He is one ebullient character
to follow but not more into the high time flight of the night. With Duke
Asidere driving, Lagos remains a city that never sleeps. Being an eclectic
person has actually made him to know where he is coming from, where he is at
the moment and where he is heading to. Even when he was a teacher at Federal
Polytechnic Auchi, Edo State, an institution he taught as a lecturer for five
years, Duke was always ready to roll. He was known for his all night drawings
and paintings. A style he is still used to in discharging his duties. His
opinion and views on visual art and contemporary art will always remain a
workbook for anyone who really wants to endear and endure the torrid times of
career building in the art house.
Voice
According to the gospel of Duke Asidere, the
artist needs a voice of his own. The voice of an artist draws not only
enthusiasts or collectors nor investors alone, but a style of your own. It
gives the artist his self – worth. Voice keys everything for the artist. Duke’s
take is always simple, “My take is simple, if you want to be like another one
of them, then fine. Remember there is always a very bad time that the man you
want to be like passed through, but you don’t know how he survived it. Make your
own road by finding your own voice,” he maintains. Duke can easily draw all day
in his studio with the legendary Bob Marley or Fela Kuti collections filtering
into the expansive dug-out like studio. He is always in a good company all the
time from 8am in the morning till 5pm closing hours. Then, the engagement and
the business intertwine. He is well known for his touch on mere sketches. He
gets in models and sketches his mood on them. Many collections in this simple
but wizardry style have been bought from the huge but cerebral artist.
Values
His signature lines and forms are candid vision
produced with innate talent and launched on canvas. “Life is all about me
playing it cool. Duke Asidere often times defies conventionality on his human
forms and faces. Check his signatures such as Re – introduction, The Red Hot Red, Black, Seated, Osaghae’s table. Then
the faces style such as The Future is
Here, The Blind fold, We wear life and the Blue day respectively, all give
a vivid description of the man behind these creations and the value he attaches
to humans, life and time that he readily expresses on his creations. He admits,
“I am not in any competition with anybody. There must be value to everything I
create. Art is a mission, but to create impression of being a hardworking
artist, whereby laziness fills your veins is a misnomer for me.” Duke Asidere
is not bitter with anyone. In his Tees and a pair of jeans with an apron on, he
turns to lecture his audience at Play spot studio. “That I simply draws or
paints, maybe do a bit of construction, people must see the creative ingenuity
and the genuine conviction that this is a piece of art worth buying. Don’t
think your audience or collectors are fools. They are knowledgeable, well read
and verse as well. Remember, you cannot cheat or exploit for too long, it
bounces back on you. The green can still wither, if not nurture properly,” Duke
grins as he turns back on his painting.
Discipline
His last exhibition at Omenka Gallery in 2014 was
entitled The Artist and His Muse; a
well received show with a yelling crowd eager to see more of his works. Discipline
has kept Duke Asidere going in his chosen career. He has refused to stop
creating art works and maintaining a good account balance. He admitted that he
took his time before the latest collection and the reason for the title, Mental
Space. “My new body of work is like a writer’s latest novel. I thought
of the idea, wrote about them and then roll out the works on different forms
and styles that I felt would be comfortable for me to express them,” Duke
confessed. “Discipline is one key to success. Being readily informed to know
the demand, your market and how to move your space surely take a lot of
cerebral process of you. Duke has always being encouraging young artists to
learn to wake up very early into their vocation if they really want to make
head ways and record head spinning moments on their works. The quality of education
the artist acquires goes a long way to help his formative years. While he
admonishes younger artists to eschew from the bandwagon effect that is the
in-thing in the industry now. Rather, artists should invest in books, seminars,
workshops, reading about the legends, and appreciating their vocation and
working on their strong points to get to the summit.
Report/Ireho Aito
Photographs/Duke Asidere
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