Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy

Chinwe is a versatile artist who works in oils, etchings, monotypes, pastels and sculpture.  Her subjects range from portraiture, still life and landscape, to pictures which capture the traditions and cultures of the African continent.

Chinwe has exhibited widely and her work is represented in public and private collections in many countries.

She received worldwide recognition for painting the official Golden Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of The Commonwealth and for her work with a number of prominent personalities.

Chinwe has featured prominently  both for her art and also for her and educational work with young people.  A recent biography published by Tamarind, is now studied by children in the UK as part of the National Curriculum. In 2003 Chinwe addressed the European Council Committee in Paris on Contemporary African Art and Artists, and later that year was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East Anglia. Chinwe’s work appeared on the national postage stamps of seven countries during 2006.

Chinwe has exhibited widely in recent years including two exceptionally successful events. The ’Celebrate’ Exhibition was specially organised in December 2003 for the Queen’s visit for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja for which she painted a portrait of Chief Obasanjo, President of Nigeria. As well as over sixty pieces of her own Chinwe displayed the work of six other Nigerian artists, and started a major educational programme to encourage art in Nigerian schools. She also works regularly with schools and colleges in the UK.

‘Ancestral Footsteps’ at the Mall Galleries, London, 2005 showcased a vast body of new works and was met with much acclaim, preceded by ‘Seeing in Colours’ at The Gallery, in Cork Street, 2004, her Land, Sea and Sunsets exhibition in May 2007 was also at The Gallery in Cork Street.

For this year’s Black History Month, her week long residency at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia in October produced many Drawings and Monotypes which are now hanging with the Sainsbury Collection. This unprecedented exhibition can be viewed till December 2007. (please enquire at Centre)

Future events include a group touring exhibition in South Africa exhibiting with the ‘’Struggle Artists’’ to include long term mentoring programme for young people, continued educational work with children in the UK and with the ‘Celebrate’ Art Education project for children in Nigeria.