Sam Onche: Homecoming
September 27 – December 20, 2024
Opening Reception: September 27, 5 – 8pm
LA Arts Presents Works by Contemporary Artist Sam Onche
“Homecoming” is a show that reflects my journey back to Maine, a place I now call home. Home is not just built with bricks and stones; it can also be constructed from connections, memories, and values. It might be a street down the road or a cherished corner of your mind. For me, home is defined by the bonds I’ve formed and the experiences that have shaped my life.
It’s rare for someone to spend their entire life in the same house where they grew up, especially in today’s interconnected world. At fifteen, I left Nigeria and my family for the US, driven by a desire to explore myself, gain new experiences, and embrace different values and ways of life. My journey led me to Maine, where I spent several years, built a community, and now, I’m back.
In this show, I aim to weave together various narratives that reflect my experiences, the need for movement, the beauty of place, my respect for Maine’s artists and community, and themes of empowerment through fashion, culture, and loss. The exhibit features thirteen paintings, each standing alone and telling its own unique story. I encourage viewers to notice the symbolism in the elements and motifs I use, which are integral to my storytelling. My use of saturated colors in distinctive combinations is intended to portray people in their most beautiful light. My passion for fashion and the way people express themselves is also evident in my work. Ultimately, I hope this show empowers viewers, offers healing, and supports their journey of self-discovery.
SAM ONCHE
Storytelling is central to Sam Onche’s work. Now based in the Chicago area, his story started in Nigeria, where he grew up in a household that valued family and art. He has fond memories of drawing with siblings and friends, developing a competitive edge that applied to sports. Basketball brought him to the U.S. and led him to Colby College. He pursued oil painting there and continues to use this medium as well as digital drawing to share stories through Black art.
Onche’s vibrant paintings, mostly portraits, employ careful colorful abstraction. Sometimes he uses Ankara fabric in the backgrounds of his portraits, a nod to his heritage and sourced from his sister’s fashion design company. Onche uses color generously and symbolically, painting his rich cultural experiences into each portrait. His process includes a constant playlist of Afrobeat and Hip hop while he paints, along with countless other inspirations he draws from the world around him that contribute to his propensity for storytelling.
He sees art as his way to give back to the community that inspires him. Beyond original paintings, Onche’s work includes illustrations for album covers, books, posters, and prints. HG Literary Agency represents Onche for illustrations and covers. He works in both digital art and traditional oil painting, and appreciates both for the diverse textures they add to his art.
Onche also explores Afrofuturism, a style partly inspired by science fiction movies and comic books. Other themes in his art range from moments of daily living to cultural evolution, with nods to fashion and music. Onche’s vision is to unite all kinds of people to look at his art from a cultural point of view, with hope for a brighter, more equal future. Visual art is Onche’s medium to speak out on Black representation and imagine a better world.
Since 1973, LA Arts, the arts agency for the cities of Lewiston and Auburn Maine, has pursued a mission to engage and inspire a vibrant community through arts and culture. The agency works with governments, businesses, schools and local arts and cultural organizations to create opportunities for community members across the generations to experience, learn, and participate in the arts. LA Arts organizes arts programs and initiatives, supports the work of local artists and arts organizations, and highlights the essential role the arts play in shaping an economically vital, socially integrated, and forward-looking future for its community. Learn more at www.laarts.org.
Located at 168 Lisbon Street in Lewiston, the LA Arts Gallery presents six exhibitions throughout the year that reflect and honor the Twin Cities community. Exhibiting artists generally have ties to LA or to Maine.
With each show, LA Arts aims to bring individuals and groups together to strengthen our community through shared experiences and deeper cultural understanding.
Gallery Hours
TUESDAY – THURSDAY
9:30AM – 2:30PM
FRIDAY
12 – 6PM
& by appointment:
contact@laarts.org
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