ymib.com - Daily Inspiration

The art of Nigerian-Americn Artist Imo Nse Imeh is fluid wit poetic lines. The duality that you find within his pieces are lovely and add so much definition for the eye to see and find. “Imo Nse Imeh is a doctoral candidate at Yale University where he is studying the History of African Art. His parents hail from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. During his undergraduate education at Columbia University, Imo was sponsored by the NIKE Corporation through the Jackie Robinson Scholarship Foundation as well as the One Hundred Black Men Foundation Scholarship. At Columbia, Imo excelled in the Art History department and was honored with the inaugural Senior Thesis Prize. He graduated with departmental honors in Art History and was named a Columbia University Kluge Scholar. Soon afterward, Imo was selected as a curatorial intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the department of Modern Art. There, he worked closely with curators to organize the exhibition, African-American Artists, 1929-1945. Since then, Imo has continued to investigate important art historical questions, especially those concerning the African Diaspora.

Imo is currently researching the art of southeast Nigeria, specifically in the area of women’s initiation ceremonies in Ibibioland. While working on his doctorate Imo continues to paint and draw. mo is keenly aware of his future role as both art historian and artist. He is currently developing his scholastic and artistic projects simultaneously, “allowing each to converse with the other,” he says. He is fascinated by the human form—especially the contrasting duality of the body’s inherent fragility and strength. This has caused him to rethink the body with respect to the African Diaspora. His rendered bodies, which he often depicts as dividing into twos and threes, being torn apart, or fusing together with other bodies and forms, are a means for him to discuss the complexities of race, gender, and identity construction among people of African descent.”