Photo: Courtesy The Artist and moniquemeloche Chicago, IL.

Ep.199 Luke Agada is a Nigerian artist living and working in Chicago. His practice examines themes of globalization, migration, and cultural dislocation within the framework of a postcolonial world, as he reflects on the African diaspora and its impact on neo-cultural evolution. He obtained an MFA in Painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023. In recent years, Agada has participated in shows in Lagos, New York, Chicago, Beijing, Accra, Berlin, and Casablanca. His work has been featured in several publications including Newcity Magazine, Culture type, The Pinch Journal publication at the University of Memphis, Tennessee, Nigeria Art archives, Juxtapoz, and Whitewall.
He has also been a recipient of various awards and fellowships including the Global Warming International Art Prize, AII, New York in 2020, the Janet and Russell Doubleday Award at The Art Students League of New York in 2022, The Helen Frankenthaler Award in 2022 and The James Nelson Raymond Fellowship Award in 2023. Agada was a Resident Fellow at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in 2023. He was recently named a 2024 Breakout Artist by NewCity Magazine and is currently a Teaching Fellow at the Painting and Drawing Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL

Artist https://lukeagada.com/

moniquemeloche https://www.moniquemeloche.com/artists/208-luke-agada/biography/

Newcity 2024 https://art.newcity.com/2024/04/02/breakout-artists-2024-chicagos-next-generation-of-image-makers/

Newcity 2023 https://www.newcity.com/2023/10/04/today-in-culture-october-4-2023-report-says-arts-sector-not-so-healthy-equity-jeffs-love-goodman-chicago-is-still-the-best-says-conde-nast-traveler/

School of The Art Institute of Chicago https://sites.saic.edu/gradshow2023/artists/luke-agada/

Culture Type https://www.culturetype.com/2023/10/12/latest-news-in-black-art-luke-agada-joined-monique-meloche-gallery-new-atlanta-art-fair-black-studies-x-art-history-more/

La voce di New York https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/new-york/2023/09/16/luke-agada-arms-feet-and-fitful-dreams-at-monique-meloche-gallery/

Artsy https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-6-rising-artists-discovered-galleries-summer-group

The Artists Feature https://theartistsfeature.com/features/luke-agada

Crossers, 2023
Oil on canvas
54 x 48 inches
Courtesy The Artist and moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL.

Fall Winds in Summer, 2024
Oil on canvas
60 x 60 In.
Courtesy The Artist and moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL.

Fighters (All that’s fair in Love and War) 2023
54” x 48”
Oil on canvas
Courtesy The Artist and moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL.

Last Call, 2023
54 x 48 inches
oil on canvas
Courtesy the Artist and Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery