Arinze Stanley Egbengwu is a Nigerian Artist, Activist, Engineer, and Entrepreneur. He is best known for creating hyperrealistic pencil drawings. Working primarily with charcoal and graphite on paper, Arinze uses his works as a medium for social and political activism, addressing pressing matters both in his community and worldwide, matters including Racism, Modern slavery and feminism etc. He was born in Lagos, and graduated from Imo state University with a B.Eng in Agricultural engineering.
He draws inspiration from life experiences and basically everything that sparks a feeling of necessity, According to him, He spends countless hours working on an artwork to stimulate deep and strong emotions in order to connect more intimately with his viewers.
He has exhibited his drawings internationally both in the United Kingdom and all around the United States of America and has participated in notable art fairs around the world including ART MIAMI, SCOPE ART FAIR and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.
Arinze's Statements
"A lot of my drawings are of people of African decent, I see a lot of art but I don’t see a lot of my people represented so I try to bring the spotlight here, to my home, and Africa so I can be able to tell our stories, share our struggles, and speak against things affecting my society."
"I draw what I know, feel and have experienced. Like I have always said, I also feel like my art is like energy transfer, when I pick up my pencils and start drawing I feel that transfer moving from me to my artworks through my pencils. Also, when I work with my subjects, I like to get personal with them, understand their emotional disposition and also create a bond that allows me express what they feel as we take almost 500 to 1000 photos before I finally choose one."
"Most times it’s almost like I lose control of my pencils and the art flows through me to the paper. I work with my Principle of the Three P's namely Patience, Practice and Persistence. These have guided me over the years towards perfecting my craft."
