Abuja Diaries | Art Exhibition at Transcorp Hilton.

All copyrights for the images goes to the artist.

I stumbled across this collection by chance. I was on an errand at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja, and I had a few minutes to spare so I decided to look round the lobby and a huge portrait of President Buhari caught my attention—Sorry the artist didn’t want a picture of it taken. The painting looked more like a picture and very life-like—one word, perfection!

I have never seen an exhibition or even art pieces all by the same artist that I loved. Everything was so different, so original, so realistic and just awe-inspiring. A lady walking by was drawn just like I was and she had the same reaction.

My short stint at an art centre has left me with a bit of knowledge of art. I do not view art as a technical thing but rather the aesthetic of it and the story it tells, this might me the side effect of the writer in me. I believe art has life and the power to metamorphose into a different thing for every person.

I had a bit of a wander round on the first floor of the hotel and I realised they have a nice collection of African themed Art. It felt like I was in a museum of some sorts. One of the workers passing by was fascinated by me apparently, because I was stood in front of a painting for a while so he walked over and striked a conversation with me and he told me about other places where I could find “nice” paintings. It felt good.

Now the tricky part about this post—which has been sat in my draft box for a while for this same reason— is I have the Artist’s namecard somewhere but I can’t find it, hence no information about him. I remember that he is Igbo—a tribe in Nigeria—because we had a conversation about that.

So my lovely Abuja readers, if you’re ever in the Maitama area, please stop by the Hilton Lobby and get his card for me so we can all learn more about this talented artist. I promise to update the post with his details as soon as I can. Better yet, if you know do share 🙂

Which is your favourite piece? What do you love about it? Please share with us.