GATHERINGS is a creative conversation which celebrates three decades of professional practice, and commemorates the artist's 50th birthday, while exploring common themes that influence his work.
In this new body of work, Edozie’s paintings and sketches on paper, are populated with portraits of stylized individuals whose afro hairdos remind us of symbols of African cultural identity and liberation. One can see the influence of his creative mentor, Olisa Nwadiogbu, in his cubist figurative style. The heads of his figures are often bent to either the left or right side, observing the world with a quizzical, ironic gaze of knowing, laced with slight surprise.
Edozie is passionate about his children and family; his ministry as a marriage counselor with his wife, provides rich emotional material for many of his depictions of human interactions.
His portraits are painted with a bold color palette and thick brushstrokes, layering the interior of thick set, curvy figures outlined in black. His two largest works, Dinner Party 1 & 2, over two and half meters wide, reveal a rich inter-play of iconic personalities typically present at a gathering of friends.
In the foreground he places a gift-wrapped present in comic-book style, alongside a small table with a bottle and wine glasses. Most of the faces are painted in profile with only one eye visible, or with eyes closed, each figure engrossed in inner thoughts. We can almost hear music surrounding the men with bubble-style afros and the women with square, shoulder length hairstyles, engulfed in party vibrations. Some heads are skewed sideways, as they respond to lively dinner conversation.
