The Life House Hosts Body Formation; An Exhibition of Paintings by Ola Balogun and Josh Nmesirionye

The Omenka Gallery of the Ben Enwonwu Foundation (BEF) and the BLOOM Gallery at The Life House presented the 'Body Formations', an exhibition of paintings by two of Nigeria's exciting and impressive contemporary artist, Ola Balogun and Josh Nmesirionye.

Middle: Ola Balogun, Profile, Acrylic on Canvas, 100x100cm, 2010, N195,000

Artists have always been fascinated with the human body. Indeed, the nude was central to the art of the ancient Greeks. We have subsequently been challenged and inspired by standards of beauty established by Greek statues of naked heroes and goddesses. Many artists including Gustave Courbet, Ben Enwonwu, Yusuf Grillo, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse have used nudes not only to create images of beauty but also to explore ideas and emotions. In this superb collection of recent paintings, Ola Balogun and Josh Nmesirionye explore the complexity and intricacy of the body.

A selection of the paintings on display

L-R: Josh Nmesirionye, Musing II, Oil on Canvas, 120x90cm, 2011, N145,000; Undisclosed Desires, Oil on Canvas, 100x80cm, 2010, N145,000; Undisclosed Desires II, Oil on Canvas, 100x80cm, 2010, N145,000  

Top L-R: Josh Nmesirionye, Musing, Oil on Canvas, 100x80cm, 2010, N195,000; Ola Balogun, Reclining Figure, Acrylic on Canvas, 80x100cm, 2010, N170,000; Seated Woman, Acrylic on Canvas, 75x70cm, 2011, NFS.
Bottom L-R: Ola Balogun, Seated Woman II, Acrylic on Canvas, 100x100cm, 2010, N195,000; Dualogue, Acrylic on Canvas, 80x80cm, 2011, N170,000; Manhood, Acrylic on Canvas, 100x80cm, 2011, N90,000 

Ola Balogun (b. 1972) graduated from Auchi Polytechnic (1991) with a HND in Painting. Ola has exhibited extensively in Nigeria, South Africa, Europe and the United States. He is the public relations officer of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos State Chapter. Working in acrylic, artworks using the striking and surprisingly effective combinations of blocks of bold solid colour applied using a broad cross hatching technique and minimal application of detail in his paintings.

Joshua Nmesirionye (b. 1968) graduated from Auchi Polytechnic (1998) with a HND in Painting. Joshua has exhibited extensively in Nigeria. He is a full-time studio-artist and is inspired by impressionist masters like Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. Nmesirionye accentuates his figures with chalk and pastels and adds some mystery to his textured canvases with the heads of his figures beyond the picture plane leaving plenty to the imagination.

Neks2u Style Spotter: Julian Louie's Tribal Spring Aldo Wedges

Inspired by Pieter Hugo's photography book The Hyena & Other Men, these funky print wedges are a mishmash of textiles designed by Julian Louie for Aldo Spring 2011. According to the designer, "The photographs [are] of a group of men in Nigeria who were street entertainers, and they trained hyenas. They had these crazy outfits that were half American sportswear that they found and half really traditional tribal pieces with a lot of interesting textiles and tassels. So the whole collection was about the mix of those two ideas."

Of course we spotted some fashionistas bold enough to pull of this statement wedge.

Christine Brown of Lovebrownsugar.com is color perfect
in this butterfly motif cop top and black maxi skirt.

Nifesimi of Skinnyhipster.com is simply gorgeous in a white lace dress.

Yoanna Pepper Okwesa, Fashion Editor and Stylist at Fab Magazine hits the town in a strapless LBD.
Daring, yet classic!

Which of these wedges from Julian Louie's Spring collection would you rock?

Click here to shop.

LPM May is finally here and Addictions from April's Edition!!!

It’s been FIVE WHOLE WEEKS since the Easter marche, so we know your inner addict has been unduly starved of the experience! Therefore, we at LPM have been on pins and needles, waiting to bring to you this month’s dose of everyone’s favorite vice! We plan to round up the month of May with the most memorable pre-summer shopping blowout ever! This weekend, the GET Arena will play host to an absolutely fantastic array of vendors that will be sure to gladden the hearts of you, our much-beloved and cherished shopaholics! Sounds too good to be true? Then take a peek at a few of the vendors we have lined up for this Sunday!

Azaria. BeBe Grafiti. La Bennis. Maju. NS 1463. Rouge Vallari. Akpos Odudu. Na'Tees. Alali. Nkechi Udeala. Gidi Clothing Connexion. Cam Cam Sweeties. Grace Diva Fashion House. Goodness! Living. Phoenix Online Clothing. Great Shopper. The Polo Shirt Shop. The Shopping Planet. Y Craig. Rukkies. JJ Arts & Craft. Tionni. K & Angel. Retrospective. Knicks & Knacks. Stephens & Sarahs.

There’s something for everyone, so be sure to grab your family, friends, and just about everyone else and blaze a trail down to the GET Arena this Sunday!

In the meantime , we can feast out eyes on these lovelies from last month to get prepared for some shopping this weekend!

People

So, we look forward to seeing you this Sunday! We absolutely CANNOT wait!!!

Venue: GET Arena, Opposite Oriental Hotel,  Oniru Estate VI.

Time: 12 pm - 7pm

Zebra Living’s Mara Collection Now Available For Purchase!!

This public holiday Monday, treat yourself to some retail therapy and come along to the exclusive preview soiree at The Zebra Boutique, 33 Sinari Daranijo Street, VI, Lagos. To attend, please send your name, phone number and email address to info@zebraliving.com to get on the guestlist/request an invitation.

See you there!

ZEBRA LIVING SPRING SUMMER 2011 LOOKBOOK: The Mara Collection

Having witnessed the amount of work and effort that went into developing this lookbook, we are extremely excited to present the latest collection from Nigerian's popular design label, Zebra Living, The Mara Collection.

Inspired by a luxury safari holiday in Kenya, the Mara collection is very much a resort collection with comfy romantic lines, flirty prints and a classic slant. Mara features happy, feminine pieces that will take any woman through the style demands of those glorious pending holidays and way beyond.

Brimming with masterfully cut shifts and generously draped silhouettes, the Mara collection is also a dynamic textile showcase that reiterates the versatility of the Zebra label. This collection employs a vast spectra of textures ranging from jersey and linen for those hot days in the tropics to chiffon and aso-oke (locally handmade cotton weave) for breezy evening soirees ...all beautifully come together.

Vibrant earth colours of the Kenyan safari abound and awaken in bold shades of red, coral and brown tinted with rich blues and turquoises reminiscent of sky and sea.

The pieces in the Mara collection are purposefully accesorized with leather belts reminicent of the Masai warriors, adding a hint of texture and contrast to this vibrant collection which is above all, very classy, happy, sexy Zebra.

CREDITS:
Photography: Moussa Moussa
Hair and MakeUp: Lola Maja
Styling: Tayo Shonekan
Models: Yvonne ‘Vixen’ Ekwere; Makida Moka; Stephanie Peter and Uche Odoh. Stephanie and Uche courtesy of Hues and Shades Modelling Agency
Clothes: Zebra Living
Leather belts: Didi Isah

For more information on how to shop, click here.

Austrian Lace Show and Documentary

Junior "Iro and buba" for Ituen Basi 

What originally started in 2009 as an initiative to document the history of Lace – especially Austrian Lace in Nigeria, by the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna, has since developed into a cooperation project merging culture, trade and fashion. The Austrian Embroidery Association in collaboration with the Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy, recently celebrated history, culture, fashion and trade relationship between Austria and Nigeria for the last 50 years in Nigeria.

This relationship was a beautiful manifestation, bringing to the limelight, the works of four amazing Nigerian designers at the Austrian Lace Fashion Show, on Saturday 14th May 2011 at the Expo Centre, Eko Hotel, Lagos. Folake Folarin Coker of Tiffany Amber, Frank Osodi of House of Bunor, Godwin Mekwuye of Vivid Imagination and Ituen Basi for Ituen Basi were the designers selected, as part of this initiative to represent the rich textures of Austrian Lace


Frank Osodi: House of Bunor -

Folake Folarin-Coker: Tiffany Amber -

Ituen Basi: Ituen Basi -

Godwin Mekwuye: Vivid Imagination-

In a documentary produced and directed by Bola Balogun for Glam Networks, the Austrian Embroidery Association with the Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy, take us on a journey that spans the last (5) five decades - building, strengthening, promoting and celebrating Nigeria through what we have come to know and love as ‘African Lace’. The documentary tells a brief story of the Austrian - Nigerian lace trade from inception - the manufacturers' first foray into Nigeria in search of new business opportunities, to the close ties that have been formed with some of these 'lace ladies' who have passed the trade on to their next generation. It tells us how Austrian /Nigerian relationship has grown beyond trade into culture with the 'aso - ebi' phenomenon and gradually, into fashion through the recent collaboration between the Austrian Embroidery Association and  the four Nigerian designers.

This documentary shows the dedication and commitment of the Austrian Embroidery Association to a market they have come to know and love; and have become so passionate about that they have decided to contribute to the growth and development of the Nigerian fashion industry through non stop collaborations with fashion designers in the Industry.

Photo Credit: Kola Oshalusi
Video Credit: Glam Networks; StyleHouseFiles