Ben Ajaero - Paintings: ART IN AFRICA

Ben Ajaero is a leading member of his generation whose work is imbued with remarkable elegance and lyrical beauty that consistently speaks to the reality of Africa's existence. An astute observer of the world around him, his work offers an intensely personal reflection of self nurtured within the compass of individual and collective history often echoed in his integrative approach to life and art. He draws on a deep understanding of Africa’s philosophical and aesthetic concepts in his approach to image making, eschewing notions of traditional standard of beauty in favor of a more personal approach with resourceful exploitation of unorthodox materials and textured surfaces. He dismisses the concept of perspectives in his work opting for a more direct two-dimensional presentation of space that creates the illusion of perspective by crudely overlapping objects within the picture space. He is aware of function and experiment as well as harmony and dissonance in paint. The artist digs Okike and the complications of modern urban life. Ancient farmer and modern artist in the African continent must dig deep into fertile soil with the implement of creativity to clarify the spirit of the people. Ben Ajaero is a widely exhibited artist whose work is in several collections at home and abroad. He presently lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria