"Star Artist, Emerem, Dazzles The World In Italy" by Nworah Clement in Umuahia, NEWS, National Vision Newspaper, Nigeria. Monday, MAY 11, 2008. Page 54.

"Emerem's Political Brush Strokes" by Nworah Clement in Umuahia, ART & LIFE, National Vision Newspaper, Nigeria, Monday, November 12, 2007. Page 46

“Africa Rises in the Art of Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem,” by Stuart Leslie Meyers, Art Exhibition Review, New York Gallery&Studio, Nov-Dec-2003/Jan-2004, Page: 19.

“From Outside, Emerem moves to Global Mainstream,” by Chuka Nnabuife, Art Exhibition Review, the Guardian Newspaper, March 30, 2004. Page: 82.

“Spontaneous Figurations,” A group exhibition at Agora Gallery, NYC, Gallery Guide, October 2003, Page: 25

“Emerem opens Art Gallery in New York,” National Vision, Dec. 15 2003, Page: 23

“Nigerians appreciate art highly,” The Punch, Oct. 31, 2003, Page: 11
“Tolerance and Peace,” A group exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Abuja, Nigeria

"Facts You should Know about Breast-Feeding," By Akparanta Mmemagu, N.A.N., Midweek Digest, The Punch Newspaper, Nigeria, August 12, 1998, -Page: 16

“Brush Strokes of the Struggle,” by Ekpo Udo Udoma, Arts and Review,
This Day Newspaper, August 18, 1997: - Page 26.

“Walking in Mbonu’s World,” by Ozolua Uhakheme, Preview, The Guardian Newspaper, August 31, 1997: - Page 33.

“Anatomy of Emerem’s Power,” by Maurice Archibong, Sunday Times Newspaper, August 31, 1997: -Page 26

“Emerem’s Solidarity With Humanity,” by Maurice Archibong, Sunday Times Newspaper, August 10 1997: - Page 26

“Nigerian’s Paintings on Display in Campanella Gallery,” by
Maureen Veto And Kristen Dickey - Staff Reporters, The Park Stylus Newspaper (Vol. 107 - No.5), November 5, 1993: - Page 8

"Economist with an Artist’s Palette,” by Yereba Kina, Literary
Vanguard, Vanguard Newspaper, March 25, 1994: - Page 8

“Emerem Waves Colour in America,” by Oke Nwankwo; Art Exhibition;
The Nigerian Guardian Newspaper, November 6, 1993: - Page 23.

“Blending Arts with Nature,” by Clement Obavuwana, Art And Culture
Exhibition; Daily Champion Newspaper, December 31, 1993:- Page 9

“Governor Mu’azu of Kaduna State displaying a Portrait of Himself
made by a Corper Mr. Christopher Emerem,” by Muhammed Musa;
Sunday New Nigerian Newspaper, July 15, 1984: - Page 5.

“A Self- Portrait Being Presented to the Head Of State By Ex-Corps
Member, Mr. Emerem”, Service Newspaper, A Monthly Newspaper Of
The National Youth Service Corps (Vol. 6 No. 61); NYSC Award Photo News; November/December, 1984: - Page 7.





Star Artist, Emerem, Dazzles The World In Italy

Nigerian’s Star Artist, Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem will this April dazzle the world again with his digital art works at the famous M.I.D.A.C. Museum, in Belforte del Chienti, Italy.

Sir Emerem, who came fourth in the Ventipertrenta 2007, International Digital Arts Festival, organized by the Italian Cultural Association, Terra dell’Arte in the city of Belforte del Chienti, Italy, will participate in a collective exhibition with the curators of Terra dell’ Arte, together with other four finalists of that international digital art meet at the International Dynamic Contemporary Art Museum (M.I.D.A.C.) in Belforte del Chienti, Italy, from 4th to 27th April, 2008. Alfonso Caputo, the director of the Ventipertrenta digital art festival has since made it public that all the digital works of art exhibited by the finalists will form part of the permanent collection of the International Dynamic Contemporary Art Museum of Terra dell’ Arte.

Artists from across the world took part in the 2007 Ventipertrenta festival of digital arts, out of which five finalists were chosen by the International Jury confirmed by Terra dell’ Arte who evaluated all the digital art works while the popular jury expressed their preferences of the digital art works of the three artists.

Similarly, Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem has also been awarded a Certificate of Participation by the “International Art Festival, Mar del Sur,” for his brilliant digital art works at a recent international art festival the organization held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The participants to the International Art Festival, Mar del Sur, Buenos, Aires, Argentina, were the Finalist Artists of the recently concluded International Exhibition of Digital Arts, M.I.A.D. Venado Tuerto 2006.

The exhibition which took place from January 5th to February 2th, 2oo8, also featured sale of digital works of art of the participants.

Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem is also billed to feature in the “International Group of Art” at the Museum of the Americas, Florida, U. S. A. together with other twenty-two artists from around the word from July 11th to August 2nd, 2008.

His current digital art works from the festivals which depict “Spirits in the Ascent,” are as brilliant as they are enchanting. His spectacular and wonderful bled of colours makes his art works stand out among that of his contemporaries.
Holding out his honours “Diploma Certificate” from the Ventipertrenta 2007 digital art festival of the Italian Cultural Association, Terra dell’ Arte, held in the city of Belforte del Chianti, Italy, and his “Certificate of Participation” from the International Art Festival, Mar del Sur, Buenos Aires, Argentina, sent him via e-mail to his museum, Mbonu-Emerem Museum of Art, Aba, Sir Mbonu C. Emerem who stated his delight at the awards reaffirmed his commitment towards using his profession to continue to project the image and cultural heritage of Nigeria.

The renowned artist however decried Nigerian rulers’ insensitivity towards real human development of the citizenry. Unlike what is obtainable abroad were government created an environment that enable people to feed from any profession they excel in, and called on the leaders to look inwards and create programmes that will help develop the nation.

Emerem who made it clear that apart from an award he received from the Buhari government in the land does not seem to know that people like him existed, enjoined the leaders to show support to professional competence and wondered if the government high vibe at tourism development in the land can yield any real fruit when the country’s art industry is neglected.

“Cuba is enjoying a tourism boom today because of the attention its leaders paid to develop Cuba’s art and cultural heritage into a national industry,” he declared.

By
Nworah Clement
in Umuahia
NEWS
National Vision Newspaper
Nigeria.
Monday, May 11, 2008.
Page 54.




AFRICA RISES IN THE ART OF SIR MBONU CHRISTOPHER EMEREM

As Andre Magnin and Jacques Soulillou point out in the introduction to their landmark volume “Contemporary Art of Africa,” while African music and dance have been heralded worldwide, the relative neglect of the continent’s visual arts is inexplicable, given their profound effect on Picasso, Modigliani, and other modern masters.

In fact, contemporary African artists are making a vital contribution to world culture, as evidenced by the recent exhibition of the Nigerian painter, Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem, at Agora Gallery, 415 West Broadway, in Soho, New York.

Although he graduated from the University of Nigeria with a degree in Economics in 1983, Emerem soon abandoned that field of study to pursue his artistic calling. We can only be thankful that he did, given the untrammeled power and beauty of his work, with its muscular forms and vibrant colors working in concert to produce visionary compositions that pulse with life.

One of Emerem’s most striking paintings, in terms of how it turns the tables on Picasso’s, take on the forms of African tribal art is the dynamic acrylic on canvas “Trapped in the Dance of Destiny.” In this bold composition, two shapely ebony figures obviously derived from traditional African sculpture appear to be bound back-to-back by swirling forms that metamorphose into a swarm of smaller figures. The entire picture is filled with an energy that can be likened to the early semi-abstract works of Jackson Pollock, which were, in fact, greatly influenced by Picasso’s African borrowings. Emerem brings such influences back to their natural origins, while showing his own sophisticated awareness of European modernism in his treatment of abstract form and composition. The cultural cross-fertilization provides for a fascinating dialogue, the visual equivalent of the rhythmic and melodic mergings in so-called World Music.

Another major acrylic painting by Emerem with the poetic title, “Woman in Her Privacy,” is as richly seductive as a harem scene or odalisque in its sensual suggestiveness. Emerem, however, abstracts feminine contours to the point where they become a maze of swirling arabesques in rich earthy hues, filling the entire canvas with fertile, curvaceous forms. As the title suggests, “Woman in Her Privacy,” endeavors to delineate the essence of the feminine mystique - that which eludes male comprehension yet fascinates men endlessly. In this regard, Emerem’s painting keeps good company with the equally formidable women of Willem de Kooning.

In other paintings such as “Cornucopia in Nature” and “The Swamp is a Nursery” Emerem adopts a gestural vocabulary of splashes and drips to create compositions that capture the energy of nature kinetically with layered skeins of brilliant pigment. In the former work, splashes of yellow and red evoke both the sensation of heat and the substance of natural growth; while in the latter, various luminous hues, layered and dripped against a verdant ground, form rudimentary stick figures, suggesting a rhythmic dance of nature sprites and tipping us off to the meaning of the title.

Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem is not only an auspicious representative of the particular qualities that make African Art unique, but a world-class painter whose work deserves to be better known by anyone concerned with the on-going evolution of postmodernism.

By
Stuart Leslie Meyers
Gallery&Studio Magazine
{ The World of the Working Artist }, Vol. 6 No. 2
New York, U. S. A.
November-December 2003/January 2004, Page: 19



SIR MBONU CHRISTOPHER EMEREM

A resourceful and prolific Nigerian artist, Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem paints with a deep consideration of man and his fate in the ever-changing world. A heightened sense of style and perspective allow his works to reveal an instinctual life force and universal thread that ties together humanity. With unusual aesthetic perception, the intense details of his paintings dance with linear explosion and repetition. From the transitioning of shapes that become part of the structured environment, he paints towards representation of a global humanity. "My artworks and creative efforts place man at the centre of function," says Emerem. A 1983 Economics graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Sir Mbonu C. Emerem divorced his academic profession and answered a natural calling by painting works that depict people as both the catalysts and binders for all things. By focusing on the importance of relationships, especially those with a direct effect on modern civilization, he suggests metaphorically how people could better co-exist. Emerem's works are a celebration of life coloured with diversity and harmony. The dramatic uniting of line, colour and other formal elements relate Emerem's message with urgency. In most cases, his provocative, energetic and congruent images, colours and concepts are stripped to the unknown, leaving viewers with more questions than answers. Sir Mbonu C. Emerem's exposing of the raw elements of existence executed with an inhibited line is a call to existential awareness for all who view his works. A native of Uburuekwe in Isu L.G.A., Imo State, Nigeria, Emerem has held numerous exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His works have been reviewed by notable scholars, museums and institutions, and are held in private collections worldwide. Sir Mbonu Emerem works at his studio and base at Aba and also maintains his museum, Museum-Emerem Museum of Art, as a permanent exhibition site.

An Internet Press Release as an integral part of Sir Mbonu Christopher Emerem's Gallery Representation package with Agora Gallery Inc published at
www.Art-Mine.com in 2003.
Art-Mine.com is own by
Agora Gallery Inc.
415 West Broadway
Soho/Chelsea
New York 10012
U. S. A.
www.Agora-Gallery.com



EMEREM’S POLITICAL BRUSH STROKES

Art, it is said, is the catalyst for political change. No where is this assertion more...