kó is pleased to participate at the India Art Fair in New Delhi, India, February 6-9, 2025. This presentation features five artists working across painting, drawing, and ceramics, including Bunmi Agusto, Motunrayo Akinola, Kwadwo. A. Asiedu, Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, and Ozioma Onuzulike.
Bunmi Agusto, Tip of the psyche, 2022, Pastel pencil on sandpaper, coloured pencil, ink and acrylic on paper, 120 x 85 cm | 47.2 x 33.5 in.
Bunmi Agusto (b. 1999, Lagos, Nigeria) creates artworks that explore the inhabitants of a surreal wonderland within her mind, called Within. These works depict hybrid indigenous characters inspired by objects integral to her sense of self and culture. Over the years, Agusto has continued to expand this narrative, incorporating human family members, friends, and passersby as cross-reality migrants—individuals absorbed into her fantasy world after encountering her in real life. She uses Within as a site to explore psychology, cultural theory, and the evolution of selfhood through the lens of fantasy. Working primarily with pastel pencils, Agusto’s mixed-media practice blends drawing, painting, and printmaking on paper. Her interest in spiritual metaphysics informs her exploration of the relationship between seen and unseen beings in her paracosm. Her pastel-drawn figures appear firmly grounded in their plane, while her printed figures are translucent, suggesting a detachment from space. Codified borders further enhance her storytelling: breeze block patterns signify spatial thresholds; borders of thatched hair represent the passage of time between scenes; and interwoven patterns delineate the Spiritual Realm above from the Physical Realm below.
Agusto holds an MFA from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford; an MA in History of Art & Archaeology from SOAS University, London; and a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, earning distinctions in all three degrees. She was named a Bloomberg New Contemporary in 2023 and has received numerous awards, including the Mansfield-Ruddock Prize (2023), the Clarendon Scholarship (2022), and the Cass Art Prize (2019, 2020). Agusto has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in Free The Wind, The Spirit and The Sun, curated by Yinka Shonibare CBE RA at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London (2023). In December 2024, she was awarded the CCA Andratx Residency Prize at Untitled Art Fair Miami Beach, securing a residency in Mallorca, Spain.
Motunrayo Akinola, Movement 12, 2024, Charcoal, gesso, on linen , 95 x 180 cm | 37.4 x 70.9 in.
Motunrayo Akinola (b. 1992, London, UK) uses images of the home and everyday materials in his work as he experiments across sculpture, installation, drawing, performance and sound. He explores timelines of access, comfort and a sense of belonging, using historical imagery and text to contextualise narratives of today. Akinola’s work is activated by re-contextualising familiar objects, interrupting quick associations and creating moments of access into othered perspectives. As a British-born Nigerian who feels comfortable in both contexts, Akinola’s work investigates systems and subtle cultural codings which work to maintain a sense of othering.
Akinola's charcoal works on linen feature abstract compositions that balance areas of blackness with negative space. These abstractions, while elusive at first, reveal cohesive patterns of interaction, balance, and disintegration. These works are part of his Movement series, which are informed by performances in white walled galleries or studio spaces. For these performances, the artist walks around the space rhythmically chanting the phrase "black teeth," raising ideas of class, beauty and the charging of spaces through ritual. This series is inspired by the history of teeth blackening, a practice found across various cultures, including Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. Traditionally performed during puberty, it symbolized maturity and beauty. However, early European explorers and colonists viewed the custom with disapproval, and it largely disappeared with the imposition of Western beauty standards during the colonial era. Through the performative act of chanting “black teeth” while creating these works, Akinola reflects on the intertwined histories of slavery, beauty standards, commerce, and teeth as both historical evidence and an archive. The resulting canvases visualise these performative movements as markings and the residue of body paint, alluding to a connection to another realm. These works were created during a residency at High House in Norfolk, UK.
Akinola holds degrees from the University of East London and the Royal Academy of Arts, London. He has exhibited solo shows at Blank Projects (Cape Town), South London Gallery, and Way Out East (London). His artist residencies include the High House Artist Residency and the South London Gallery Postgraduate Residency. Current exhibitions include Monotypes at Messums London; New Contemporaries 2025 at Institute of Contemporary Art, London; and Knees Kiss Ground at Bonington Gallery, Nottingham. Akinola lives and works in London.
Kwadwo A. Asiedu, Through Ash and Palingenesis, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 61 x 91 cm | 24 x 36 in.
Kwadwo A. Asiedu (B. 1987, Mexico) is a Ghanaian artist who depicts highly impressionistic landscapes with a visual language of rich, textured layers and pulsating light, texture, and color. His practice is rooted in an intimate exploration of place. Asiedu examines the poetic and mysterious qualities of the natural world, channeling the idyllic world untouched by humanity’s corrosive tendencies. This focus, however, is anything but utopic. Through undulating, abstracted landscapes that play with elements of flora and fauna at different scales, he considers humanity’s position within nature and our need to cultivate a more sustainable and respectful relationship with the earth. Asiedu highlights the spiritual and material interdependence between humans and their environment, creating an arresting homage to natural beauty and an urgent plea to preserve what’s left of it.
Asiedu was born in Mexico and is currently based in Lagos, Nigeria, He holds a Masters degree in Environmental Management from the University of Hertfordshire, England. Group exhibitions include We See We Hope We Dream, TAOH, (2022) Lagos and Tomorrow is Tomorrow, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in London (2023). He has participated in recent art fair presentations with kó at 1-54 New York (2024), Untitled Miami (2023), Art X Lagos (2023), and Art Dubai (2023). He was selected as a featured artist for the special project Art Across Borders at Art X Lagos in 2023, celebrating leading artists of African descent who contribute to enriching cultural discourse and ecosystems on the continent, as the selected representative for West Africa. His solo exhibition, Wistful Shatter, was held at Kristen Hjellegjerde Gallery in 2024. Asiedu's work is held in international private and public collections including the Arcadia Art Foundation.
Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, Big Heart, Ceramics, acrylic, monofilament, fishing line, metal, 150 x 180 x 30 cm | 59 x 70.9 x 11.8 in.
Ngozi-Omeje Ezema (b. 1979, Nigeria) creates sculptural installations by suspending hundreds of terracotta pieces to form the shapes of amorphous vessels. Ezema represents a new generation of contemporary Nigerian ceramists who infuse modernist sensibilities into an age-old traditional art form, radically challenging long-established notions that locate ceramics within the limiting frame of its utilitarian function. Her works explore the motifs of vases and leafs as expressive visual elements rich in affective metaphors, taking inspiration from the forms and materials of the natural environment. Using her personal experiences as a point of departure, her work addresses issues relating to identity, family and womanhood. The terracotta fragments are connected by translucent fishing wire and hung as free floating or wall-mounted works.
Ezema’s solo exhibition, Boundless Vases, was held at kó in Lagos, Nigeria in 2021. Her first solo exhibition, Connecting Deep, was held at Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Lagos in 2018. She also participated in the First International Biennale in Centra China and Le Pinceau De L’Integration in Senegal, during the Dakar Biennale in 2016. She was commissioned for a special project installation at Art X Lagos in 2016. In 2019, she won the High Excellence Award at the Cheongju International Craft Biennale in South Korea. Ngozi-Omeje Ezema has participated in artist residencies with the Centre for Contemporary Art/ Trianglar Art Trust (Lagos), Goethe-Institut Nigeria (Nsukka), Sevshoon Art Centre (Seattle), Goethe Institute Ghana (Kumasi), and the Trianglar Art Trust (Jos). In 2021, Ezema was featured by kó as a Special Project at Abu Dhabi Art. Ezema is currently serves as a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where she teaches ceramics. Ezema’s current exhibition, Boundless Vases, is held at Pinathotek der Modern in Munich.
Ozioma Onuzulike, Babariga with Crimson Red Embroidery, 2023, Earthenware and stoneware clays, glazes, recycled glasses and copper wire (36.8kg; 3,720 ceramic palm kernel shell beads), 155 x 142 x 10 cm (61 x 56 x 4 in).
Ozioma Onuzulike (b 1972, Achi, Nigeria) He explores the aesthetic and symbolic nature of clay-working, adopting a laborious process to achieve unique colors and textures in the clay, oxides, and glazes. Each ceramic undergoes bisque-firing and is dipped into ash glazes before being adorned with recycled glass. The pieces are woven with copper wire and allude to the West African textile traditions of Akwete, Aso Oke, and Kente. These beads mimic the visual lightness of precious stones or ivories and also carry a tangible weight, much like Africa’s woven prestige textiles—dense with meaning, history, and identity.
Onuzulike’s works serve as metaphors for the historical and sociological roots of turmoil in Africa. Referencing their materiality, Onuzulike’s works are weighty embodiments of history, resilience, and transformation. The fusion of clay, oxides, glazes, and recycled glass creates a dynamic interplay of textures and colours, symbolising the power of collective action and the emergence of beauty from the struggle. His choice to incorporate recycled glass and copper wires extends the work’s conceptual depth into the realm of environmental sustainability. By repurposing discarded materials, these works contribute to global conversations on ecological consciousness, reinforcing the idea that transformation—whether social, cultural, or environmental—is both necessary and possible. The decision to weave his works into a "Babariga"—a garment associated with royalty and opulence—sparks reflection on Africa’s layered histories of wealth, power, and cultural identity. Beads, particularly glass beads, played a pivotal role in historical trade, including the transatlantic slave trade. Later, palm oil and palm kernel oil became commodities that replaced human beings as currency in global markets. By referencing palm kernel shells in ceramic form and using them to construct textile-inspired sculptures, Onuzulike engages in a deeper interrogation of Africa’s evolving socio-economic landscape.
Ozioma Onuzulike graduated with First Class honors from the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Recent exhibitions include Recent Works at Marc Straus Gallery (NY); Free The Wind, The Spirit, and The Sun at Stephen Friedman Gallery (London); and When Hearts Beat with Lofty Dreams at Afrikaris (Paris). kó has presented his work at The Armory Show, EXPO Chicago, 1-54 New York, Art X Lagos, Abu Dhabi Art, and Untitled Miami. In 2024, Onuzulike was listed as a finalist for the the seventh edition of Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, which was exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Anthropology and Archeology, University of Cambridge, Princeton University Art Museum, the Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Crocker Art Museum, Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, and the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos. Onuzulike is an art professor and the Director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The India Art Fair opens with a VIP preview on Thursday-Friday, February 6-7, 11 AM-7 PM, by invitation. The India Art Fair is open to the public on Saturday, February 8, 12 PM-7 PM, and Sunday, February 9, 10 AM-6 PM.
