John Madu - 20th Century & Contemporary Art: Online Auction New York Tuesday, March 21, 2023 | Phillips

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  • John Madu is a multidisciplinary artist from Lagos, Nigeria. The city’s long history as a global hub of art and culture is reflected prominently in Madu’s work. His intricate visual language blends elements from art history with imagery of African culture within a vibrant, modern setting. The resulting juxtaposition brings questions of originality and individuality to the forefront, refracting these ideas through a contemporary, globalized lens.

     

    In Red Veil (Not a Time to Dance), Madu depicts a woman wearing the titular garb climbing a staircase in a fuchsia-painted room. Hung on the wall above her shoulder is a print of The Dance, one of Matisse’s landmark works. The contrast between Madu’s reserved figure and the effervescent dancing figures of Matisse’s painting places the present lot into a larger discussion of art history. Viewers are asked to consider the role that the legacy of modern art plays in society and how this role evolves in a world increasingly connected by technology.

     

    Madu’s work is a testament to the creative possibilities that arise in an era with widespread instantaneous access to the canon of art history. When speaking to the beginnings of his artistic career, Madu explains, “Like everywhere, globalization meant that the world was at our fingertips.”i However, his visual references to the likes of Matisse, Van Gogh, Munch, Haring and Basquiat should not be considered simple nods to the greats of modern art. Rather, they are key cogs in grand visual allegories that convey the nuances of Nigerian culture that arise from globalization and neocolonialism, while exploring the temporality of visual art as it exists in today’s world. As Madu says, “My paintings capture today’s world whilst borrowing from the past and from art history.”ii

     

    Madu is also focused on how his art will be considered in the future, reinforcing the theme of recursiveness that permeates his oeuvre: “I’m always thinking about the future, and wondering what people will feel when they view my work 50 years from now.”iii While Madu’s oeuvre can be defined by a constant dialogue with the past, the crux of his paintings revolves around how society can grow in the future.

     

     

    i John Madu, quoted in Alessandra Alliata Nobili, “’John Madu. The Year of The Masque’: society is a masked ball, at the Mudima Foundation in Milan.,” Artalkers, June 24, 2022, online.

    ii John Madu, quoted in “Portraits Through Time,” Aesthetica, December 10, 2021, online.

    iii Ibid, online.

    • Provenance

      Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

41

Red Veil (Not a Time to Dance)

signed and dated "John Madu 2020" lower left; signed, titled and dated "RED VEIL 2020 (NOT A TIME TO DANCE) John Madu" on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
59 1/8 x 58 in. (150.2 x 147.3 cm)
Painted in 2020.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$7,000 - 10,000 

Sold for $6,985

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Katerina Blackwood 

Associate Specialist, Head of Online Sales 

+1 332 239 8940

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20th Century & Contemporary Art: Online Auction

21 - 28 March 2023