Visual Piety
Date
Credits
Format
- Poster 1686
- Illustration 283
- Print 243
Media
- paper 1341
Techniques
Locations Made
Susanne Wenger arrived in Nigeria from Austria in 1950 but soon embraced the Yoruba culture as her own. She left her artistic legacy in Europe and her most important works were in Nigeria. From an outsider by birth, she was honored as a national treasure for sharing the spirituality of Yoruba art with the world. The Adunni Olorisha Trust preserves her remarkable creative integration into Nigerian culture. Wenger sold prints and in turn, used the funds in the creation of monumental shrines in the sacred groves of Oshogbo.
Susanne understood or believed that spirituality is not captured through replicating forms but by metamorphosing shapes. Therefore, the vibrant, irregular forms of the male and female figures in her art aim to reflect the lively, changing nature of human-divine connections and mystical energy.
