Hold what you have by Oluwafemi Akanmu Explore Mondoir Studio Medium: Charcoal and acrylic on canvas Dimensions: 30 x 30 in Year: 2023 Price: $1500.00 USD Status: available We are all human born imperfect, who fit who? But I love my flower Why collect this work?A monumental, upward-turned figure breaks the regularity of a green geometric ground. Concentrated yellow and pink intensify the figure’s presence, framing self-possession as the painting’s answer to pressures of fit and conformity. Akanmu states that his practice affirms the dignity and elegance of Black identity through hope, culture and lived experience. In this work, the figure’s commanding scale and steady gaze support that intention without resolving the meaning of the patterned setting.The face and shoulders dominate the square composition, while the tilted head approaches its upper edge. Behind them, pale signs are cropped by dark rectangles; a yellow rose interrupts this rigid repetition and visually connects head, earring and garment.The documented charcoal and acrylic make possible a contrast between gradual tonal modelling and broad, saturated colour. The photograph shows these modes meeting at sharply defined contours, although it cannot establish how each material was applied.Dated 2023, the portrait gives the title “Hold what you have” productive ambiguity: the flower may be cherished, displayed or guarded, while the enclosing grid keeps belonging unsettled. About the ArtistOluwafemi Akanmu Oluwafemi Akanmu is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: painting. Based in Ibadan, NG. Nationality: Nigerian Through my art, I intentionally highlight the richness of African culture and its enduring beauty, with particular emphasis on the dignity and...
