Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia, Dramas de Honor: Actors Cutting Ties (2023), oil and tempera on washi paper [Detail]

 
 

Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia (Spanish-British), figurative painter and installation artist, recently completed her MFA at the Glasgow School of Art. Onwochei- Garcia was selected as a Bloomberg New Contemporary (2023) and was awarded the RSA John Kinross Scholarship and the Leverhulme Master of Fine Art Bursary. Her recent exhibitions include Short Lapses (Saltspace, 2023), Royal British Society of Artists Rising Stars of 2022 (ROSL, 2022), and Painting our Past: The African Diaspora in England (Corbridge Museum and The Africa Centre in London, 2021). 

Onwochei-Garcia explores ideas around the narration of history and how individual, subjective experiences inform the description and the reading of historical events. Her large-scale paintings on washi paper are hung from the ceiling to immerse the viewer in her work. The viewer becomes yet another figure in the complex dialogue among the subjects. The scale and placement of these works emphasise the tension and discomfort between the characters. Compositionally, Onwochei-Garcia’s paintings evoke feelings of entanglement, further interweaving fiction with reality. 

Selected Works

 

Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia

Dramas de Honor: The Myth, 2023

Oil and tempera on washi paper, 107 x 130 cm  

Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia

Dramas de Honor: Actors Cutting Ties, 2023

Oil and tempera on washi paper, 160 x 170 cm 

 
 

Exhibition History

2023 – ‘ADDENDUM,’ No 20 Arts, London, UK

- ‘Bloomberg New Contemporaries,’ Camden Art Centre, London, UK and Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, UK

- ‘MFA Showcase 2023,’ Florence Street, Glasgow, UK

- ‘Short Lapses, Long Rolls,’ Saltspace Gallery, Glasgow, UK

2022 – ‘Painting Our Past: The African Diaspora in England,’ The Africa Centre, London, UK

- ‘RBA Rising Stars 2022’ Hall of India & Pakistan, London, UK

- ‘MFA 1 Interim Show,’ Florence Street, Glasgow, UK

- ‘Openings’ Barnes Building, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK

- ‘Open Dialogues: Conversations on Identities’ Barnes Building, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK

2021 – ‘Rinse’ (online), Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK

– ‘Painting Our Past: The African Diaspora in England,’ Corbridge Museum, Corbridge, UK

2020 – ‘Quantos A4 cabem no Á-Quatro’ Barreiro, Lisbon, Portugal

– ‘Arts in Rome Academy Summer Show,’ Arts in Rome Academy, Rome, Italy

Awards and Residencies

2023 – Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2023

- 2023 RSA John Kinross Scholarship

2021-22 – Leverhulme Master of Fine Art Bursary 

 

Press Releases

ADDENDUM

15 September-14 October 2023

Kimberley Burrows, Euan Evans, Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia, Heiyi Tam

Publications

ADDENDUM

Exhibition catalogue
22 pages - Fully illustrated in colour,
5.8 x 8.3 inches (14.8 x 21 cm)

Click here to download a pdf version of the catalogue, or please contact the gallery at info@no20arts.com to enquire about a paper copy.

 

Elena Onwochei-Garcia, Dramas de Honor: The Myth (2023), oil and tempera on washi paper [Detail]