By Japhet Alakam

In what looks like a dramatic come back to her first love,  Funmi Ogbogu, daughter of renowned artists Ernest Azubuike Emdim,  aka Negro Arts recently opened a new art gallery for business. The Micro Biology graduate of University of Benin who claims that art flows in her family disclosed that she opened the gallery in order to meet the demands of many art collectors in Nigeria especially those in Lagos mainland.

The gallery which is situated at, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulure, Lagos is already stocked with different art works of varied media that can meet collectors demand any time, and is set to host its maiden exhibition from April 1 – 6, 2013 at the gallery.

In a chat with the Media, Funmi who said that she joined the gallery business in memory of her late father added that “We are bringing the beauty of African creativity to art lovers in Surulere and environs. Our vision is to have art appreciation in every home and business environment while growing and developing our local artistic talents.”

Continuing she said, “we are doing this through exhibitions, buying, selling and promotion of African artworks and artists. We want to build a clientele that believes in beauty and in artworks that speak to their emotional, intellectual and creative cores. A clientele that wants to have a full life experience”.

Negro Art Gallery, she also said, provides an avenue for discovering and nurturing talents in young people by providing role models for them in the art world. The gallery also provides an outlet for individuals, family and friends to take some time out of their busy schedules and experience the spiritual, emotional, therapeutic, and social benefits of inspirational works of design and beauty from great talents.

The gallery features works from well known professional artists with many years of  experience as well as budding artists with lots of potentials for creating master pieces if nurtured and encouraged. They  include: Tony Nwalupue, Demola Tukuru, Lucky Isaiah, Wahab Aromire, Marshal Nwanwu and Anthony Emdin among others.

The paintings include landscapes, portraits, still life, real life, and religious works. One will also find artworks that help us reconnect with our culture and our history as Africans and indeed works for different occasions including gifts for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, sentforth/ farewells, beautification (interior and exterior decoration) of homes and offices, as well as souvenirs/ memorabilia.