Capturing a sense of self
Artist Monica Ikegwu paints stunning portraits of African Americans.
Social media has an immense impact on how quickly trends in beauty and fashion come and go. With the seemingly endless amount of content being posted every day, the way society views individuals has influenced how people present themselves.
Oil painter Monica Ikegwu, 24, paints portraits that capture the essence of each subject. She writes in her artist statement,
“Structured upon the portraiture of African Americans, the main idea of the work is to focus on the perception of individual people. Perception in the way that people are viewed and how they want to appear. The work brings to focus the attitude of people. She sets in time the trends that different people follow in terms of their appearance. She aims to produce work that is a culmination of people, not as subjects to paint, but as people with their own sense of self.”
Each work typically has one subject with a central color. Using rich tones with high contrast shadows, her paintings could be mistaken as photographs at first glance.
Ikegwu is based in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Maryland Institute College of Art for her BFA before heading to the New York Academy of Art where she finished her MFA in painting in 2022. Her work has been exhibited all over the world, and she had her first solo exhibition, “We’ve Always Been Here,” in 2019 with Band of Vices. In 2022 alone, Ikegwu was part of seven exhibitions and there are surely more to come in 2023.
Ikegwu’s portfolio on her website here is not only recent work but paintings from the beginning of her career in 2016. With each portrait, her skills have grown and become more precise.
Incredibly active on social media, Ikegwu shares her art on TikTok @monikaikegwu and on Instagram @mikegwu and on her personal account @monica165. Whether it is sketches for upcoming pieces, finished portraits, or progress videos, her posts get a lot of attention. Make sure to follow along to see what she creates next!