Pita Ohiwerei

"As an artist, I think art is something from within trying to express itself. I feel I have so much to express, I am never satisfied, I always want to try something different. Early in my career, I was using an impasto technique then I started experimenting – I used the tip of a knife and left marks on the canvas. Over time, these precise marks developed into my signature technique, my own post-impressionist style”

Pita Ohiwerei has displayed a mastery of mediums, painting primarily in oils and in watercolours. In his genre paintings, Pita represents the spirit of people by capturing spaces of contemplation. With the deft touch of his palette knife, Pita intends to evoke calm and relaxation in the viewer. His paintings radiate a hazy glow, as tranquil seaside views are cast in dim lighting, boats are reflected in still waters, and detailed figures are merged into the impasto strokes in the background. His work often pictures similar scenes in different hues, boldly shifting from primary colours to pastel shades, from the bleed of watercolour to the thickness of oil paint.

Pita received his fine arts training in Nigeria from the Federal Polytechnic, graduating with a distinction in painting. As a professional artist for over 30 years, his work has been exhibited widely in Nigeria, the United States, Canada and Europe. With a long history of being privately collected, his work has appeared in auction houses such as Bonhams, UK, and Arthouse Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria. Pita supports younger artists in Nigeria and donates his work for charitable causes. He currently lives between Atlanta, Georgia and Lagos, Nigeria.

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As a figurative and abstract painter, Pita resists the flatness of the canvas. His signature “Scratchee” style involves scratching the entire canvas with meticulous cross hatch marks to add grainy texture and create a sense of depth. He has evolved this technique to “Scrapee” in which he scrapes the canvas in wider sections in a similar vertical and horizontal pattern. The effect is heightened when the image appears slightly distorted as though blurred by a rainstorm. Pita’s landscape, figurative, and portrait paintings tend to crossover to the abstract as he pushes the limits of texture and paint technique.

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