Artist in Residence: June - August 2021

Born in 1990, Nneka Uzoigwe is a figurative artist. She trained at London Fine Art Studios, where she now teaches part-time and received the De Laszlo Foundation Scholarship in 2016 and 2017. Nneka’s work incorporates dreamlike elements, but there is a sense of realism due to her drawing and setting things up to paint from life.

During the summer 2021 residency at Watts Gallery Nneka Uzoigwe created mythological paintings in response to exhibiting artist Henry Scott Tuke. Like Tuke, Uzoigwe was trained in classical painting, studying from Greek and Roman sculptures and life models. During the residency, Uzoigwe developed a new collection of large-scale paintings exploring the male body in imagined landscapes. Her final paintings, along with existing works, 'Alix and Her Hair Crowns' and ‘The Marine Room’, were displayed in the Watts Gallery historic collection displays, alongside the symbolist paintings by George Frederic Watts.