2008 Artist Profiles
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Abiola Akintola A touch of the 2008 International Olympics comes to this year's African American Fine Art Show-Chicago, with the arrival of artist Abiola Akintola (Ah-Bee-OR-Lah Akin-TOR-lah) the second place winner in the United States Olympic Committee Sport and Art Contest. Akintola, an abstract painter who works with oil on sculpted aluminum, recently donated his entry to the United States Sports Academy. The work, "Beyond Parameters," depicted a female pole vaulter in a leotard with brilliantly colored strips ribbons, arched backwards as she cleared the pole.
"I cut aluminum flashing into strips like ribbon and then joined together on a piece of plywood to form the subject," he said, explaining his extraordinary technique in producing this stunning work. "Once that was finished, I used a special kind of oil material to paint it."
Akintola, a native Nigerian who now lives in Chicago, served on the voting committee for the International Olympic Committee's Sport and Art Contest in Lausaunne, Switzerland. His dynamic works have been featured in shows throughout the United States and is available in galleries as far away as Oakland, California.
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Elenora "Rukiya" Brown When artist Elenora "Rukiya" Brown arrives for the September 27-28 African American Fine Art Show-Chicago, she will unveil the latest additions to her evolutionary collection of hand-wrapped sculptures: dolls whose designs reflect the current stage of her healing and that of her beloved adopted hometown.
There was no home awaiting her when she returned to New Orleans, but Rukiya had a warehouse of determination. She created 100 new dolls, her "Uprooted" collection. They carried the inspiring message: "Look up, hold on."
Last year, to pay homage to residents whose bodies still remained in the morgue, she created a collection entitled, "Unclaimed Memories."
During the three years since Katrina, Rukiya's life has changed tremendously. The overwhelming popularity of her dolls not only has secured a home for her, she now has a gallery of her own-and a new tradition she established to thank Chicago for the outpouring of support she received during her stay here. She now premieres her new creations here.
"Chicago always gets the first look," Rukiya says, "because they were so good to me."
Her 2008 collection has a decidedly triumphant theme, mirroring the progress that she and New Orleans have made during the past three years. It's called, "Swimming to the top of the rain."
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Turtel Onli This year's African American Fine Art Show-Chicago is attracting some of the nation's finest artisans to the city to exhibit alongside locals such as Turtel Onli, recently featured in the New York Times for his work in Chicago's "Cool Globes" exhibit.
Back in the 70's, gallery owners he approached assessed his work as "ahead of its time." His creative mind responded by dating each piece "1999."
"When 1999 arrived, people would say, 'You did all that work this year?'" he laughs.
Onli, who left his native Hyde Park to work in Paris as illustrator and art director for Paris Metro and Mode Avant Garde magazines, believes that the work of African Americans is unique-and should be called something other than "black art." He suggests that "rhythmistic art" might describe it more accurately.
Onli's work is decidedly upbeat, as evidenced by the latest of his must-see oil collections that will be featured at the African American Fine Art Show-Chicago. This one, called "Passion Fruit," has been a resounding hit. In it, he transformed the watermelon-stereotypically and erroneously portrayed as a favored food among African Americans-into eye candy.
