Marcia Kure

Kure was born in Kano State, Nigeria.[2] She trained at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka under painter Obiora Udechukwu, a leading figure of the Nsukka School, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in painting in 1994.[3][4]

Kure's early work focused on political violence and the agency of women in patriarchal society.[5] Her later work has been concerned with themes related to motherhood, haute couture fashion, hip-hop aesthetics.[6]

In a 2015 interview for ARTCTUALITE, Kure articulated the influence of space on her work, stating that she "[tries] to make an argument for people who do not have a defined space," and the ways in which she incorporates Western aesthetic techniques alongside those of African:

"I am not interested in either or, in what something is or what it is not; rather, I prefer the grey area that deals directly with oppositions and juxtapositions. I find the ability to inhabit different views very inspiring. I think the assimilation of western forms and techniques in my work allows me to integrate and interpret the world through a prismatic lens much better than one who has a singular view."[6]

Kure has exhibited internationally with solo exhibitions at the Goethe-Institut, Lagos; Purdy Hicks Gallery, London; and Susan Inglett Gallery, New York.[7] Her work has additionally been featured in group exhibitions at institutions such as the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art; the New Museum, New York; the Barbican Art Galleries, London; National Gallery of Art, Lagos; and, the WIELS Contemporary Art Center, Brussels.[2] Her work can be found in the collections of the British Museum; the Centre Pompidou; the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; The Newark Museum; the North Carolina Museum of Art; the Cleveland Clinic; the Sindika Dokolo Foundation, Luanda, Angola; and, the United States Embassy, Abuja.[8] Kure has participated in the La Triennial (2013); the International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Seville (2006), directed by Okwui Enwezor; and the Sharjah International Biennial (2005).[9]

From January through March 2014, Kure was artist-in-residence at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[10] She was awarded the Uche Okeke Prize for Drawing in 1994.

The artist is represented by Susan Inglett Gallery, New York; Purdy Hicks Gallery, London; and, Officine Dell'Immagine, Milan.[2][11][9]

• 2007- 2008: Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship
• 2007-2008: Program Puffin Grant for "Burqua as Shelter," Sculpture, Charleston, South Carolina
• 2004: Elena Prentice Rulon-Miller Scholarship Fund/Minority Work Study Grant, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

• 2019: Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, Sweden[12]
• 2004: Teaching Internship, St. Mark’s School, Southborough, Massachusetts

• Official website