Work samples

  • Peak Sketchbook Portrait
    Peak Sketchbook Portrait
    oil on gold leaf on paper, 7.75in x 9.75in, 2021...this portrait serves as a preliminary sketch and source of inspiration for a larger painting.
  • Protect Black Women
    Protect Black Women
    Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 36in x 36in, 2022...one of the various portrait paintings that explores the “Protect Black Women” movement. The slogan/hashtag was created by Black women in response to the racist and sexist violence they disproportionately face.
  • Relatively Distant #3
    Relatively Distant #3
    Oil and paper on canvas, 5in x 7in, 2015...Nigerian-American - this self-portrait chronicles my sentiments as a first gen daughter born to Nigerian parents. My maternal mother's town is miles distant from here. Apart or far off in time: distant centuries past.
  • Chidinma_Dureke_Malika_&_the_Haunting_Reflection.jpg
    Chidinma_Dureke_Malika_&_the_Haunting_Reflection.jpg
    As featured in the Baltimore Sun, oil on canvas, 36in x 36in, 2014...this painting of a friend named Malika was my response to the stories that women and men carry that often go unsee. At the time of her portrait, Malika was on a spiritual journey. In this painting, she is depicted working with her unconscious mind to uncover the parts of herself that had been repressed and hidden from herself.

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About Chidinma

Anne Arundel County

Chidinma Dureke is a millennial mixed-media artist based in the Baltimore region and Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Born in D.C. to parents of Nigerian descent, Chidinma was raised between Nigeria and the United States. Her unique cross-cultural perspective characterizes her art, which investigates and celebrates Black identity. Especially drawn to portraiture, Chidinma creates vibrant visual narratives that masterfully integrate elements of African art history, traditional… more

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Shipped And Sold

Over the course of two years, Nigerian-American artist Chidinma Dureke collected and considered everyday canned food items—each a familiar emblem of her Trans-Atlantic upbringing. These objects are mass-produced, mass-consumed, and eventually disposable. They are seemingly simple and mundane, yet provide a profoundly personalized lens through which Dureke asks a universal question: What is the value of the Black body?
 
From the history and legacy of American slavery to the continued exploitation of Blackness in today’s capitalistic culture, Shipped & Sold uses the motif of prepackaged goods to explore overarching themes of commodification and consumption. Drawing upon her own cross-cultural experience and identity, Dureke puts a fresh spin on the Pop Art aesthetic through a diverse selection of conversation-starting portraits and interactive sculptures.
  • Peak
    Peak
    Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 30 x 40, (2021)
  • Peak CAN
    Peak CAN
    This installation features a series of portraits and a supporting ground-fabricated sculpture installation titled "Peak CAN" made with metal, plastic, cardboard, fiberboard, steel, polyethylene, and archival inkjet print. The bottom of the sculpture is covered in sand and measured 35.5 x 22” (the average size of a shipping container) and was placed where viewers could carefully considered the can from all angles and even touched. From Africa to the Americas, the tin can is a ubiquitous vessel for the transit and sale of consumable goods. Typically, the surface of each can colorfully advertises the contents within. How do these mass-produced images shape our perception of what is actually inside the vessel?
  • TITUS
    TITUS
    Oil and metal leaf on canvas, 30 x 47.5”, (2021-22)
  • Nilo Part 1
    Nilo Part 1
    Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 30 x 40” (2), (2021-22)
  • Nilo Part 2
    Nilo Part 2
    Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 30 x 40” (2), (2021-22)
  • Africa Queen
    Africa Queen
    Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 30 X 40”, (2022)
  • PBW (Protect Black Women)
    PBW (Protect Black Women)
    Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 36 x 36”, (2021-22)
  • TOM TOM
    TOM TOM
    Oil, acrylic and metal leaf on canvas, 30 x 40”, (2022)
  • St. Louis Little Girl Blue
    St. Louis Little Girl Blue
    Oil, acrylic, and metal leaf on canvas, 30 x 40”, (2022)
  • Shipped And Sold Solo Exhibit Water Video Loop
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    • 30 Portraits 30 Days

    Over the month of December 2020, I decided to paint 1 portrait a day during the COVID-19 lockdown. Every portrait painting, 1-30 was completed in 30 days for the #30paintingsin30days art challenge. 
    • No.14
      No.14
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.12
      No.12
      Oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.15
      No.15
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.16
      No.16
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.18
      No.18
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.21
      No.21
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.23
      No.23
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.24
      No.24
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.25
      No.25
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    • No.26
      No.26
      oil on paper, 9 x 12, 2020
    •

    • Relatively Distant

    The first-generation experiences are unique and alone in their struggles and perspectives. Nigerian-American - far off or apart in space; not near at hand; remote or removed from the culture: a distant place; my maternal mother's town, miles distant from here. apart or far off in time: distant centuries past.
    • Relatively Close: Self-portrait
      Relatively Close: Self-portrait
      Oil on canvas, 20 x 20, 2015
    • Relatively Distant #1
      Relatively Distant #1
      Oil on canvas, 5 x 7, 2015
    • Relatively Distant #2
      Relatively Distant #2
      Oil on canvas, 5 x 7, 2015
    • Relatively Distant #3
      Relatively Distant #3
      Oil on canvas, 5 x 7, 2015
    •

    • Sunflower

    Critiquing beauty standards and the culture of hair and beauty in the darkness. How do we internalize the beauty structures that we did not make? 
    • Malika And The Haunting Reflection
      Malika And The Haunting Reflection
      Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 36 x 36, 2014
    • Self-Portrait with TWA
      Self-Portrait with TWA
      Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 36 x 36, 2014
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    • In The Studio With Chidinma Dureke

    Documenting my work is a major part of my artistic process. Along the way filming my work  has evolved to a form of journaling, storytelling and an extension of my paintings.  
    • Artist Studio Vlog | Painting Black Skin Tones + Art Show Chat
    • Art Studio - How to Apply Silver Leaf Easily to Canvas
    • Art Studio VLOG | TOM TOM & New Sketchbook Painting
    • welcome to my art studio
    • Paint With Me! Home Studio Views
    • Chidinma Dureke's Exclusive Interview with Young Africa Media
    • The Bloom of Chidinma Dureke Book
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