Esiri Erheriene-Essi

b. 1982, London, UK
Lives and works in Amsterdam, NL

Esiri Erheriene-Essi constructs figurative paintings that draw on compositions found in the vintage, vernacular photography of the 20th century African diaspora. In her transformation of archival snapshots into large scale paintings, Erheriene-Essi re-imagines scenes of everyday communion, levity, and political struggle with a technicolor glow. She was originally born in London to Nigerian parents. Inspired by likes of Kerry James Marshall, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Lucian Freud, Alice Neel and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Erheriene-Essi creates paints quotidian life, domestic scenes and portraits, incorporating familial and historical backgrounds as well as personal experiences in her works. 

Esiri Erheriene-Essi (b. 1982, London, UK; lives and works in Amsterdam, NL) received an MFA from University of East London. She has had solo shows at Maruani Mercier, Knokke; Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam; Museum Arnheim, Arnhem; and De Ateliers, Amsterdam. She was also included in Tomorrow is a Different Day – 1980-Now at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, among many other group exhibitions worldwide.

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