CV
Luke Agada
Born 1992 in Lagos, Nigeria. Lives and works in Chicago, IL
EDUCATION
2023
MFA Painting and Drawing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL USA
2018
DVM Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026
When The Center Holds, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2025
To Translate is To Move Across, Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2024
Between Two Suns, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2023
Arms, Feet and Fitful Dreams, Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
In Abstracto, In Concreto: On Memory and Presence, Efie Gallery, Dubai, UAE
ArtCrush, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado, USA
2025
Ever So Present: Between Home and Elsewhere, Gagosian, New York, USA
Back to The Earth, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
25!, Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Expo Chicago, Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Master Class: Inside the last American Museum School, Secrist Beach Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Frieze Art Fair, Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2024
Shared Vision: Portraits from The CCH Pounder-Kone Collection, African American Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
In the Know Show, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX, USA
Newcity Breakout Artists Group Exhibition, Chicago Artist Coalition, Chicago, IL, USA
2023
Polireality, Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Where the Wild Roses Grow, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Gorne, Berlin, Germany
2021
Unusual suspects, African Artists’ Foundation, Lagos Nigeria
2020
Collective Reflections: A Contemporary African and Diasporic Expression of a New Vanguard, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana
2017
Lagos for all, Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria
AWARDS, GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS
2024
Breakout Artist 2024, Newcity Art, Chicago, IL, USA
2023
James Nelson Raymond Fellowship Award, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Teaching Fellowship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Fall Residency Fellowship, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, MA, USA
2022
Helen Frankenthaler Award, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Janet and Russell Doubleday Award, The Art Students League of New York, New York, NY, USA
2021
George and Ann Siegel Award, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
RESIDENCIES
2025
Dragon Hill Residency, Mouans-Sartoux, Cannes, France
2023
The Studios, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, MA, USA
SELECTED PRESS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
2026
Young, Charles Venkatesh. “Luke Agada’s Hopeful Surrealism.” Newcity, October 26, 2026.
Smith, Julia. “Luke Agada | Your Malaise Means Nothing to the Lover of Life.” Flaunt, October 23, 2026.
Editors. “When the center holds.” Meer, October 21, 2026.
Pride, Ray. “Today In Culture, Tuesday, October 13, 2026: Tony Cokes’ Art Institute Billboard | The Obamas’ South Side Offices | Restaurants Going Affordable.’” New City, October 13, 2026.
Jones, Okla. “How Luke Agada’s ‘When The Center Holds’ Challenges The Idea Of A World Falling Apart.” Essence, October 7, 2026.
Kpade, Sabo. “Luke Agada: 'We Live our Memories in Colour'.” Art Report Africa, October 2, 2026.
Wynn, Noa. “Luke Agada and the Architecture of Memory.” Whitewall, September 24, 2026.
Tauer, Kristen. “Luke Agada’s Sean Kelly Gallery Debut Explores Hope, Rest and Adaptation Amid Uncertainty.” WWD, September 18, 2026.
Moîsi, Laurent. “The Global Art Stops Between Fashion Weeks.” Whitewall, September 15, 2026.
Editors. “Sean Kelly Presents WHEN THE CENTER HOLDS — Preview.” Picture this Post, August 31, 2026.
Boucher, Brian. “At 8,000 Feet Above Sea Level, the Aspen Art Fair Aims to Offer an Elevated Experience, With Brisk Sales, Cold Plunges, and Mountain Hikes.” ARTnews, July 30, 2026.
Proctor, Rebecca Anne. “Can Figurative Abstraction Sway Historic Memory?” Frieze, June 11, 2026. Editors. “Dialogue 227: Luke Agada.” Brave Projects, January 20, 2026
2025
Karen K. Ho "In an Uncertain Market, Chicago’s Art Scene Offers a Beacon of Hope for Artists and Gallerists Alike," ARTnews. October 3, 2025
Teddy Sandler "Echoes of Subjectivity in Abstract and Surrealist Translation," Impulse Magazine. October 14, 2025
Jonathan Bonfiglio "Luke Agada’s Paintings Are Spectral Depictions of Time," Newcity Magazine. October 20, 2025
Cover Art- 2025 Breakout Artists Issue, Newcity Magazine. April, 2025
2024
Katie White “Trendsetting Galleries Are Betting on Rising Artist Luke Agada,” ArtNet. October 28, 2024
Katie KernLuke Agada was Once a Veterinarian. Now, His Art Focuses On the Anatomy of Adaptation,” Cultured Magazine. September 25, 2024
Christa Terry “Painter Luke Agada Is Pushing the Boundaries of Representation,” Observer. October 7, 2024
Ryan Waddoups “Luke Agada Maps His Psyche’s Blurred Terrain,” Surface Magazine. October 01, 2024
Jensen Toussaint “African American Museum in Philadelphia to Present New Exhibition from Award-Winning Actress, CCH Pounder,” Delco Today. September 4, 2024
Maxwell Rabb “11 Artists Having a Breakout Moment this Fall,” Artsy. Aug 26, 2024
“Breakout Artists 2024: Chicago’s Next Generation of Image Makers,” Newcity Art. April 2
Waywell, Chris. "Los Angeles According to: Bennett Roberts from Roberts Projects," Frieze. February 19
2023
Catherine Bardi “Monique Meloche Gallery Announces Representation of Luke Agada,” Art News Africa. October 19
Valentine, Victoria L. “Latest News in Black Art: Luke Agada Joined Monique Meloche Gallery, New Atlanta Art Fair, Black Studies x Art History & More,” Culture Type. October 12
Pride, Ray. “Today in Culture, October 4, 2023: Report Says Arts Sector Not So Healthy, Equity Jeffs Love Goodman, Chicago is (Still) the Best, Says Condé Nast Traveler,” Newcity Art. October 4
Idowu, Angel. “Chicago Exhibition Weekend Celebrates Public Art Across the City, Sept. 29- Oct. 1,” wttw News (PBS). September 29
“Luke Agada: Arms, Feet, and Fitful Dreams at Monique Meloche Gallery,” La Voce di New York. September 14
“Luke Agada,” CGN. September 14
“6 Rising Artists We Discovered in Galleries’ Summer Group Shows,” Artsy Editorial. August 18
“GR Gallery Brings Along Some Friends to VOLTA New York,” Juxtapoz Magazine. May 18,
“The Studio Announces 2023 Summer/Fall Fellowship Awardees,” Assets for Artists. May 12
2022
Hall, Michael. “Celebrating the Art Students League’s 2022 Grant & Scholarship Recipients,” LINEA. August 5
Porter-Woodruff. “Luke Agada,” The Artist Feature. March 11
2021
The Pinch Journal, Vol. 41, No. 2, University of Memphis, Tennessee
Olatunbosun, Yinka. “Unusual Suspects’ Spellbinding Moments of Creativity at AAF,” This Day News.
Donoghue, Katy. “Danny Dunson Offers a New Model for Emerging Talent,” Whitewall.
2018
Dolapo Adebayo. “Surrealism: A Different Kind of Reality,” Infotrust. November 29
“Nigeria Art Archives,” The Art Momentum, Lagos, Nigeria
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2023
Lecturer, Painting and Drawing Department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Teaching Assistant, Painting and Drawing Department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
SELECT PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Green Family Art Foundation
PUBLIC TALKS & PODCASTS
2024
"Embracing Chicago," Chicago Exhibition Weekend, The Driehaus Museum
Episode 199: A Conversation with Luke Agada, Cerebral Women Art Talks with Phyllis Hollis