Name: Njideka Akunyili Crosby Pronunciation: N-gee-deh-car Born: 1983 Nigeria Art Movement: Contemporary Art Main Medium: Painting, Collage Artist Quote: "My art addresses my internal tension between my deep love for Nigeria, my country of birth, and my strong appreciation for Western culture, which has profoundly influenced both my life and my art." |
Achievements: Crosby is among the recipients of the 2021 United States Artists (USA) Fellowship. The artist was awarded an honorary doctorate from Swarthmore College in May 2019. In 2017, Crosby was awarded the prestigious Genius Grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Crosby became the talk of the contemporary art world when the price of her work soared dramatically. Last year, her pieces went from selling for around $100 to selling for more than $3 million, clearly demonstrating she is one of the most popular artists today. | About the Artist: Crosby studied at Swarthmore College, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Yale University Crosby creates colorful collage paintings which weave together intimate moments with commercial images from Nigeria and reference Nigeria’s history. These scenes are often directly inspired by the artist’s own experiences and memories, and are populated by her family members, friends, and people she has met or recalls from back home. Crosby combines sources from different worlds, mixing family photographs from Nigeria with an interior of her own apartment. Crosby currently lives and works in Los Angeles. |
Sources:
https://www.njidekaakunyilicrosby.com/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/njideka-akunyili-crosby-18974
https://www.moma.org/artists/44492
https://www.njidekaakunyilicrosby.com/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/njideka-akunyili-crosby-18974
https://www.moma.org/artists/44492