Calm Under Pressure Painting

Valdengrave Okumu is a self-taught artist who works primarily with oil and acrylic mediums. His artwork takes a critical view of social and cultural issues while leaning towards surrealistic and often philosophical themes. His paintings include details that serve to deeply engage the viewer and provide a chance to challenge one’s perceptions, perspectives and assumptions. These works encourage the viewer to delve into the unknown, something we are not comfortable doing. This is accomplished by painting in a way that uses new and unpredictable cycles of thought and associations through juxtaposing seemly unrelated images to a create a harmonious work of art. The subject matter of each body of work determines the materials and the forms of the work. The inspiration for each painting stems from a wide range of different media (Music, Literature etc.), an event, a work of art or even a passing thought. Once an idea for a painting is conceptualized, he begins to sketch and group together specific themes and meanings. During the research and production phases, new concepts arise and lead to new paintings.