Bio
Clement Oladipo is a first generation Nigerian American artist primarily working in sculpture. He was born in 1989 in Waco, Texas. In 2012, he received his Bachelors degree in Urban Planning and Policy from Virginia Commonwealth University. His work is influenced by the urban and natural world but also brings new life and acknowledgment to disregarded man made materials and objects.
Oladipo appreciates the small and mundane things in life, as well as the large and obvious. Through this everyday appreciation, Oladipo’s sculptures range in size from a few inches to several feet, thus circling back to his appreciation to all sizes, shapes, colors and materials.
Statement
As a child of Nigerian immigrant parents, I was used to making due with what we had. I saw the significance and usefulness of ordinary objects that would be mundane to most people.
I acknowledge the forgotten and deteriorated by telling a story through objects that have since been neglected.
My work bears the mark of time, rusty and weathered objects are apparent in my work. Bone sculptures can represent the death of an animal or life to another. Wooden sculptures could represent the death of a tree or the usefulness of what would otherwise deteriorate back into the earth.
Each sculpture emphasizes the hidden or ignored aspects and characteristics of the material.
My sculptural process consists of collecting a variety of unique anthropomorphic items of all shapes, sizes and mediums from my direct environment. I envision what will become the body to a figure or an eye to a mask, or the base to a sculpture. Once I have enough materials, I begin to assemble a sculpture by using: wire, glue, screws, nails, sewing thread or chisels.
I want the history of the object to surround the work while seeing it in a new light without erasing its history.
Group Exhibitions
ECLIPSE OF DISTANCE, The Yard, Brooklyn, NY 2023
TIGHTBOND INFINITY, The Studio, Queens, NY 2022
LOCAL ECONOMY, Gallery 5, Richmond,VA 2022
SPRING OPEN HOUSE, The HUB Center for the Arts, New York, NY 2020
ANYONE / ANYWHERE IV: FEELINGS, Kinfolk 94, Brooklyn, NY 2019
AN ART SHOW, All For One, Richmond, VA 2018