Makama John

Nigeria • 1992

  • Artworks
  • Biography
  • Movements

Makama John

Painting, Frankly Speaking, Makama John

Frankly Speaking

Makama John

Painting - 127 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 50 x 40 x 1 inch

$2,950 $2,655

Painting, Unknown Soldier - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Military, Veteran, Men, Makama John

Unknown Soldier - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Military, Veteran, Men

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 40 x 1 inch

$2,650

Painting, Brother - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Floral, Men Love, Dotted Green, Makama John

Brother - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Floral, Men Love, Dotted Green

Makama John

Painting - 127 x 106.7 x 2.5 cm Painting - 50 x 42 x 1 inch

$2,950

Painting, Marylynne - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women Hair, Makama John

Marylynne - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Africa Women Hair

Makama John

Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch

$2,950

Painting, Hilda, Makama John

Hilda

Makama John

Painting - 106.7 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 42 x 36 x 1 inch

$2,950

Painting, Shadows and Diamonds, Makama John

Shadows and Diamonds

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 inch

$2,350

Painting, Telephone, Makama John

Telephone

Makama John

Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch

$2,000

Painting, Boy Bee, Makama John

Boy Bee

Makama John

Painting - 61 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm Painting - 24 x 18 x 1 inch

$1,400

Painting, Day dreamer, Makama John

Day dreamer

Makama John

Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch

$2,000

Painting, Self-portrait, Makama John

Self-portrait

Makama John

Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch

$2,000

Painting, III (Three) Imperfect Imperfections, Makama John

III (Three) Imperfect Imperfections

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 inch

$2,299

Painting, Deep Contemplation, Makama John

Deep Contemplation

Makama John

Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 30 x 30 x 1 inch

$2,000

Painting, Desert, Makama John

Desert

Makama John

Painting - 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 36 x 1 inch

$2,850 $2,565

Painting, Love yourself, Makama John

Love yourself

Makama John

Painting - 127 x 106.7 x 2.5 cm Painting - 50 x 42 x 1 inch

$2,800

Painting, Crucked Smile, Makama John

Crucked Smile

Makama John

Painting - 45.7 x 61 x 2.5 cm Painting - 18 x 24 x 1 inch

Sold

Painting, Confidence, Makama John

Confidence

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 inch

Sold

Painting, Deyelo the Guy, Makama John

Deyelo the Guy

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 40 x 1 inch

Sold

Painting, II (two) Imperfect Imperfections, Makama John

II (two) Imperfect Imperfections

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 76.2 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 30 x 1 inch

Sold

Painting, A Place of Peace (The Guitar Boy), Makama John

A Place of Peace (The Guitar Boy)

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 40 x 1 inch

Sold

Painting, Hove (Jay Z), Makama John

Hove (Jay Z)

Makama John

Painting - 101.6 x 101.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 40 x 40 x 1 inch

Sold

Biography

As eye-catching as intriguing, Makama John's portraits are irrevocably in tune with the creative bubbling of Africa. From his studio located in Abuja (Nigeria), the self-taught artist delivers a powerful body of works. Giving the viewer an intimate atmosphere, his creations are marked by blazing colours, brilliantly put in contrast to enhance his subjects whose unchanging gazes are filled with unwavering confidence and poise. The aesthetic signature he developed with the green polka-dotted skin gives all the uniqueness to his representations, thus recognizable from miles away. If the young Nigerian always had a pencil or a paintbrush in his hand since childhood, he decided to wear the hat of a full-time artist three years ago. A pivotal decision that marked the beginning of an exciting chapter and made him a promising artist whose name is now on the lips of art collectors from all around the world.

With portraiture, Makama John explores a way to (re)take and retain control over the image, and therefore the perception, of the individuals who make up the multilayered cultural here and now of Africa. His work can be seen in the same vein as Amoako Boafo, Annan Affotey or Kehinde Wiley – from whom one can recognize the busy backgrounds –, artists who have greatly inspired his work. However, distinctness quickly became a crucial thing for the young painter who decided to cultivate a bold visual signature: sharp-eyed individuals represented with emerald green skin covered with black polka dots.

An unusual, yet brilliantly exploited, choice of pigment that John explains as coming from childhood memories when, growing up on his grandparents' farm, green would fill his daily visual environment. “It's the green we find on the farmland, everywhere it's always green during the rainy season. It is memories of me helping my granddad. I realized that with green, I could represent agriculture, growth, prosperity." Having grown up close to outdoors and vegetation also explains the recurrent insertion of botany in his works. 

One can see it as a poetic way to embody the ongoing bond that unites us to nature, our life cycle being not so different from that of the elements of nature; the same intricate rhythm of life that sees us born, grow, reproduce, wither and die just as flora. As for the black dots covering his subjects – who are mostly John's close friends – they symbolize all the individuals who, singularly, make up Africa's plurality.

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Need to know more?
What is Makama John’s artistic movement?
The artistic movements of the artists are: Rich and Colorful Figurations
When was Makama John born?
The year of birth of the artist is: 1992