Uzo Egonu was described as a loner, child prodigy, and scholar of the Nigerian Nok culture. The early 1960s were independence years in Africa. For artists in exile, this was a moment of nationalist pride, and Egonu was no exception. Somewhat Fauvist in tenor, his output carries a palette of blue, yellow, and black that emerges in full force in Guinean Girl (1962). Characterised by a deliberate naiveté, a disregard for physiognomic precision, and fuelled by the determination to feel with colour, Egonu’s animated portrait stresses his subject’s features, her large eyes, her poise, and assertive manner. Her nationalist attire is carefully realised and her necklace, which falls casually over her shoulder, suggests that she has just moved closer. A year after producing Guinean Girl, Egonu held his first major solo show at the Woodstock Gallery in London. This is the first time the work of Uzo Egonu is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Nancy Dantas
