Today we’d like to introduce you to Nnamdi Okonkwo.
Nnamdi, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Nigeria but came to the United States in the late eighties to attend college, courtesy of a basketball scholarship. Back in Nigeria, I had always been drawn to art but only made my first serious attempt to study it, thanks to the encouragement of my mother, when I was about 17 years of age. My interest then was in painting but quickly changed when I took my first sculpture class soon after I arrived in America. Since graduating with an MFA degree in sculpture from Brigham Young University, I have continued to learn and have been blessed to be able to make a living through my art. My good wife deserves a lot of the credit, for her full support has been a real difference maker in my pursuit of an art career.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To say that it’s been a smooth road is like saying that climbing Mount Everest is a walk in the park. The chief challenge for the artist is the problem of being both an artist and a business person. Selling art can be so frustrating and time consuming that there’s always the temptation for some artists to look for an easier profession. Trying to make a living with art is definitely not for the faint of heart. But just as in everything if the will is strong enough, there’ll be a way.
Nnamdi Art Studios – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My specialty is stylized figurative sculptures cast as limited bronze editions. My sculptures range from miniatures to tabletop, to life size and monumental.
I feel that my greatest asset in sculpture is my ability to communicate a palpable life in my figures. Form and shape are important to me and my work is an arrangement of forms with the aim of capturing something profoundly touching and beautiful about humanity.
My work can be found in many private and public collections throughout the world. I am happy to have my monumental sculptures permanently installed in many cities across the country. Recently I had the honor of having a major city in China to acquire one of my monumental sculptures which will be permanently displayed in a public park.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I’ve learned that there is no greater success than finding joy and purpose in one’s daily work. I have a wish to populate the world with my monumental sculptures which will be my way of adding to the beauty of this world. Beyond just visual beauty, I hope that my sculptures will also express something profoundly meaningful about life, and be a shrine of hope and inspiration.
Pricing:
- Miniatures: $450-$950
- Tabletop: $1500-$7500
Contact Info:
- Address: 740 Glynn St. North. Suite G
Fayetteville, GA 30214 - Website: www.nnamdiart.com
- Phone: 404-406-5757
- Email: nnamdi@nnamdiart.com
- Instagram: https//instagram.com/nnamdiart
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/NnamdiSculptures/
Image Credit:
Barry Vangrov
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