Biography
Uduh Francis Maduka is a multimedia artist, he works with wood, metal, clay, mosaic, and beads. A reticent about himself and his art, allowing his work and raison d’être to carry above descriptions and categorisations. His practice route has taken him from his comprehensive training at the prestigious art institutions of Federal Polytechnic Auchi, Edo State and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos to the execution of private and prominent public commissions. “My art is all about making – being original not faking. It all revolves around discovery of self, immediate environment, materials and tools. This I believe and sincerely know is life existence itself. We should make it not fake it.”
Uduh, like many of his peers, showcases his art on various platforms of the creative world – at national and international level. Several of his sculptures have been acquired through the conduits of international auction houses. On analysis, his perspective of art making, is focused on authenticity, and interpretion of his immediate physical and metaphysical environs, into highly challenging sculptures of natural and abstract forms. Traditional influences, twinned with innovative application are certainly key factors present in Uduh’s work, whose materials range from wood, to bronze, to fibre glass. He captures realism in meditative, emotive pieces and communicates this converged language with elongated, cavernous bronzes – concave emphasising the convexity and depth of archetypal features. A furtherance of this language is Uduh’s de-construction of the physical form to its barest essentials. He re-imagines and fashions physical characteristics. This sculptural style allows the artist to exploit his tools and materials and to manifest a new anatomy of volume versus void, creating robust, impactful pieces. Uduh’s sculptures encourage tactility and a three hundred and sixty degree appreciation of his work and thought process. |