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| Marcia Kure | |
|---|---|
| Name | Marcia Kure |
| Birth date | 1970 |
| Birth place | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Field | Drawing, Mixed media, Installation |
| Training | University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Chelsea College of Arts |
| Notable works | "Menstruation Machine", "Omolu", "Dynasty", "Disorientations" |
| Awards | Prince Claus Fund Award (2016) |
Marcia Kure is a Nigerian-born visual artist known for large-scale drawings, collages, and installations that explore identity, migration, gender, and power through layered figuration and symbolic imagery. Her work intersects transnational narratives and visual cultures, engaging with histories of Lagos, London, New York City, and transatlantic movements. She has exhibited internationally in institutions such as the British Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and the Prince Claus Fund programs.
Kure was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in a context shaped by regional and global exchanges involving locations like Jos, Enugu State, and connections to diasporic communities in London and New York City. She studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where alumni include El Anatsui and others from the Nsukka School, and later undertook postgraduate studies at Chelsea College of Arts in London. Her formative years coincided with political and cultural developments related to the Nigerian Civil War aftermath and continental artistic movements tied to institutions such as the National Gallery of Art (Nigeria).
Kure began exhibiting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, participating in group shows alongside artists like Yinka Shonibare, Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, and El Anatsui at venues including the Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. She has contributed to international exhibitions curated by figures associated with the Venice Biennale, the Sharjah Biennial, and the São Paulo Biennial. Her career includes collaborations with galleries such as Pace Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery, Corvi-Mora, and nonprofit spaces like Gasworks and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Kure's practice emphasizes drawing as primary, producing charcoal, graphite, and mixed-media works that incorporate collage, fabric, and found materials referencing markets and archives in Lagos and diasporic networks in Brooklyn and London. Her imagery often combines masked figures, militarized silhouettes, fashion references, and ritual elements echoing traditions from Yoruba and broader West African iconography, while also alluding to global conflicts such as the Rwandan Genocide and the legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Themes include gendered power dynamics, migration, and the production of identity within postcolonial contexts linked to institutions like the African Union and historical moments like decolonization.
Kure's solo and group exhibitions have been mounted at major venues: solo presentations at Corvi-Mora and institutional projects at the British Museum and the Museum of Modern Art affiliated programs. She participated in thematic group exhibitions exploring contemporary African art alongside practitioners exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, Serpentine Galleries, and Haus der Kunst. Her projects have been supported by residencies and grants from organizations such as the Prince Claus Fund, the British Council, and foundations connected to the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation initiatives addressing international artistic exchange.
Works by Kure are in collections of institutions including the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and major university and museum collections that also hold works by Athi-Patra Ruga, Pavel W., and contemporaries. She received recognition from cultural bodies like the Prince Claus Fund and has been featured in publications and catalogues produced by institutions including the Venice Biennale and the Tate Modern.
Kure has been involved in educational and residency programs at institutions such as Chelsea College of Arts, Goldsmiths, University of London, and artist residencies in cities like Berlin, Amsterdam, and New York City. She has lectured and run workshops in settings connected to university galleries, art schools, and cultural centers including Gasworks, Studio Museum in Harlem, and artist-run spaces associated with the British Council.
- "Dynasty" series — large-scale drawings combining collage and figuration exhibited in group shows with work by Wangechi Mutu and Yinka Shonibare. - "Omolu" — works referencing ritual figures and fashion, shown in contexts linked to African diasporic exhibitions at institutions like the British Museum. - "Menstruation Machine" — mixed-media pieces engaging gendered bodies and power structures, exhibited in contemporary programs with artists represented by galleries such as Corvi-Mora. - "Disorientations" — a suite of works addressing migration and chaos, shown alongside curatorial projects connected to the Sharjah Biennial and international museum collaborations.
Category:Nigerian artists Category:Living people Category:1970 births