There are artists who love to fill their canvases with colours, objects, people and patterns. Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze prefers instead to create on paper large-scaled scenes characterized by minimal settings and inspired by photography, architecture and print-making.
Born in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria, but currently based in Philadelphia, Amanze has a passion for breaking a scene into units: in one of her drawings there there may be an architectural feature such as a window in the distance, a hybrid creature like her leopard man Audre in the foreground and then geometries created by angular swimming pools and divers. The way the artist puts together her compositions allows her to create an infinite setting on a fluid space on which her flat figures move. The weightlessness of her figures is also symbolised by the material employed by the artist – paper.
Amanze creates scenes using graphite, ink and pigment drawings that she often combines with photo transfers, in some cases inspired by the art of the late Malian photographer Malick Sidibé, and that at times seem slightly reminiscent of Superstudio's collages (in this case there was usually a grid as a background, while in Amanze's we have a neutral white background).
The stories Amanze tells do not have a cohesive narrative: quite often they are visual studies in which the artist plays with space, graphic patterns, architecture, dance (she is also a dancer) and fashion.
The graphic patterns employed by Amanze derive indeed from her interests and studies in textiles: it is not rare to spot in one of her works a character wearing a visually striking garment such as a striped gown or a pair of trousers with an intricate pattern.
Amanze has recently created a new drawing for the Pattern Room at Collezione Maramotti. This new work, entitled "How To Be Enough", consists in 15 large sheets of paper that create a modern minimalist fresco featuring divers, a pink grid-like window and a statuesque dancer, on thick rag paper, a sculptural and structural medium. The fresco will also become the background for one of her performances at the Collezione Maramotti in June 2021.
Visitors will be able to see the new work from 21st February (to 25th July) at the Collezione Maramotti (Via Fratelli Cervi 66, Reggio Emilia), but on Saturday 20th February (at 6pm CET), you have the chance to join in a conversation with the artist at this link.
During this event it will be possible to ask the artist questions using the live chat on YouTube or you can send your questions in beforehand (deadline to send the questions: 3.00pm CET on Saturday 20th February) via email at info@collezionemaramotti.org, or via private message on Collezione Maramotti's Facebook and Instagram pages.
Amanze is one of those contemporary artists who may easily appeal to fashion designers: you look at her bright and bold figures floating in neutral spaces and you can immeditely imagine them printed on a T-shirt or a dress. So get this chance to ask Amanze some questions before a fashion designer asks her to collaborate on their next collection: you'll be able to say you were aware of her works way before the fashion industry spotted her.
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