What People Are Saying

1 Forgotten Heritage 2 Village Life 3 Music is Everywhere 4 African Kingdoms 5 Countries-Cultures 6 Slavers & Raiders 7 The Journey 8 The New World 9 The New World Africa's Children About Augie N'Kele What People Are Saying Archives Exhibitions Artist Residencies Touring Norway Two Dimensional Work Print Links Critiques & Comments Motion My Photos

About Augie N'Kele and Forgotten Heritage

He's more than an artist, he's a storyteller--with his hands. And he tells a story with the same passion that he remembers in his mother's voice when she told him about slavery in Africa...with aluminum gutter mesh, wire, and metal, a legacy of black history unfolds in incredible detail.
Dianne Elliott , DFW Connection magazine in 1993 

An aura permeates the room where Augie N'Kele's art stands...Norma Wade, Dallas Morning News

People say it's just amazing how he uses the material he uses, how someone can take ordinary wiring and create sculptures with it, said Leon Woods, who helped install an exhibit of N'Kele's work at the Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. It's been three or four years and people are still talking about it...

Fort Worth Star-Telegram May. 20, 2003

 

...In order for people to be about their business of making a difference today, they must be aware of the past struggle. There's a linkage between the past and future; that's what I felt when I saw his work. And when I met him and saw his sincerity I could identify with him because of his feelings. The man's work speaks for itself...

Carrie Tunson, Dean of Contining Ed, TCC, SE, Arlington, TX

He’s telling an incredible story from a different perspective…Mitti Jordan, Exec. Dir. SDCC

When I first saw this artist's work I was overwhelmed by its beauty; its complexity; just how emotionally, it makes an impact on a person and how exceedingly well made as objects of art. I love the way he depicts the limbs; how he builds mass and also at the same time creates movement by wrapping wire. It is reminiscent of gestural drawing, which has a kind of immediacy, depicting action and motion in a spontaneous fresh way. Augie translated this into sculpture, which is kind of amazing because sculpture is so heavy....Marci J Inman, Director, Irving Arts Center Irving,TX

Opening Reception for Forgotten Heritage at Fort Worth Museum of Science & History

Mr. N'Kele's musical instruments and visual art are exquisite examples of adapting industry's discards into objects of beauty...

Chip Taylor, Fort Worth Museum of Science & History

You were a fantastic addition to our Design IT studio program.  Your warmth and humor make working with you a joy for us and our teens.  Thanks for being so gracious during our visit to Tarrant County College, and for teaching us how to create art from wire.  We still wear the jewelry you helped us craft.

Saafir 2006
Abdur-Raheem Saafir, DesignIT Coach
Design IT Studio, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

 ...several artists in Tragic Wake focus on the factual history of slavery and its aftermath: They construct their art to serve as a visual form of testimony, taking history as a starting point to give witness to their horror of past injustices or to celebrate stories of courage and triumph against great odds. Working in tableau format, N'Kele often accompanies his work with passages of text culled from his research materials...                        Alan Prokop, Curator, Spirit Square Center for Arts, Charlotte, North Carolina, Tragic Wake: The Legacy of Slavery and the African Diaspora in Contemporary Art   

...N'Kele, a native of Congo, has been telling the story of the slave trade since 1991 when he was inspired to take up sculpting...His art work, included in the the Henrietta Marie exhibit, is part of a body of work N'Kele has entitled "Forgotten Heritage"...He described his work in an effort to educate children about the history of slavery.

It's an effective medium for storytelling. As a teacher in a predominantly African American third grade class, I struggled with my students' aversion to their history. As they put it, they didn't want to listen to "all that slave stuff." But the children who watched N'Kele create one of his sculptures, listened attentively to him...Edie Scott, Fort Worth Weekly

 

Augie N'Kele's sculptures depict the human cost of slavery...Edie Scott, Fort Worth Weekly

 ...incredibly successful...visitors have remarked that it has been the best exhibition yet hosted by the new art center...  Susan Talbot-Stanaway, Director, Sioux City Art Center

...artists from around the state submitted works...centerpiece of the exhibit is an incredible wire and aluminum sculpture by Augie N'Kele...Liane Vine Bridge is more than art; it's a wonderful symbol of ingenuity and perseverance...   Andy Grieser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX  

 

Forgotten Heritage, Sarratt Gallery, Vanderbilt University, 1996

Best exhibit I've seen here...E D M Wise, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN