MONICA IKEGWU

Band of Vices is pleased to announce DUO, a new solo exhibition by the Baltimore-based artist, Monica Ikegwu… The opening will be preceded by the artist IN•Conversation at the gallery, discussing her work...

“Over the years I have always focused on painting people in a way that allows their true selves to be seen. What I have come to notice is that personality comes through more when surrounded by those you feel comfortable with. This show is a continued focus on people, but with an emphasis on the relationships between two entities and how they influence one another. This focus on two has more to do with the idea of connection. I could go on with three, four, and even a hundred, but for me I believe a one to one connection is the strongest.

The idea of “two” is explored in several ways that go past just by having two figures together on a canvas. Within the thirteen works, I am looking at gestures between two people, the relationship of two people when divided, and even observing the interaction between the viewer and a singular figure.

The people that surround us affect and determine who we will become. In order to grasp the full picture of a person, it is necessary to examine their attitudes when they are in communion with others they care about.”

This is Ms. Ikegwu’s third solo presentation with Band of Vices.

From the Venice Biennale to Christie's to Frieze, Seoul Korea, Art Basel and of course, the acquisition from Baltimore Museum of Art and its recent, monumental exhibition “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,” which now travels onto Saint Louis Art