Stanley Agbontaen

Nigeria, 1982

BiographyStanley Agbontaen is a Nigerian artist who has burst on to the art scene with determination, dedication and talent. When told by a family member that he would be better off being an auto mechanic than a painter, he resolved to be an artist and to be a successful artist. At age 26, he has already achieved this goal. Using a palette knife and oil paint, Stanley achieves rich canvases, glistening with color and filled with action, akin to the works of well known Ghanaian artist, Ablade Glover. He likes to focus on the challenges of everyday life for his inspiration. The two paintings in this exhibit were painted after a visit to New York City where he was impressed by the enormity, scale and bustling, very different from back home in Abuja. Stanley told me he felt compelled to document “the promised land”. Up until this point he had concentrated largely on Lagos crowds, buses, umbrellas, and markets in Nigeria.

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