Onyedika Chuke Talks Juneteenth From Art Basel

At the height of Black Figuration’s prominence in the art world—and during the global wave of activism sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests—Nigerian-American artist Onyedika Chuke founded Storage, a project space in Tribeca that has since evolved into a gallery. In honor of Juneteenth, the U.S. holiday commemorating the end of slavery, I caught up with Chuke during his travels through Switzerland for Art Basel. We spoke about his dual role as artist and gallerist, and his reflections on legacy and culture, offering insight into why Black perspectives must endure beyond the fad.

Oceana Andries: What unspoken codes or survival strategies have been passed down to you, and which are you rewriting?

Onyedika Chuke: The art world is a multitude all tied up into one amorphous, volatile system. It was not made for me. A lot of codes that were given to me were useless, written by people who do not have my background nor experiences. My strength comes from knowing I am vulnerable and designing systems that help others through areas of vulnerability, be they artists I show or collectors I work with. This has become a form of service. I am not the person that people think of as the perfect art dealer, so their rules are not mine.

A survival strategy I have picked is building new bridges and knowing that bridges often burn themselves due to systemic erosion. Once I let a relationship go, I seek to find a few more. It is a practice of abundance. I have become okay with making up my own strategies and seeking teammates. It might come from being the youngest and only boy, growing up in a country without a lot of infrastructure. I’m a Nigerian and an American; I was raised by Caribbean and Black American families. I knew that it was not going to be easy. There are no handouts; I never looked for them. I aim to create more efficient systems.

Why did you choose to shift from making art to exhibiting and sales? What was the landscape like for Black creatives? How have you seen it shift?

In 2020 a great number of Black artists entered art mainstream consciousness, as the Black Lives Matter protests thrust them to center stage. Within weeks galleries, more artists, and collectors wanted to make as much money as possible before things cooled off. Many Black artists that were highlighted in 2020 have since disappeared–the gallerists too. It is clear that interest has waned for that sector, having been based on price speculation, feelings of guilt, and an effort toward correcting the canon, rather than a genuine long-term interest. I founded Storage as a project space in 2020, allowing me to experiment for eight months. I took a break to reassess my values and complete an ongoing ten-year art project, after which making Storage into a gallery became my next goal.

It was an interesting time to be starting a capital-intensive art business. Many things were shifting. Between 2020 and our current state, the United States went from Black Lives Matter protests to recession as the politics moved towards the right-wing. Foreign policy would enter mainstream consciousness as war brewed. For the art world these shifts play a huge role. Money became cheaper, costs became higher, value dropped–art sales are now more uncertain as the overall art world responds. But none of the above is new; art business is naturally volatile, so is world politics.

Who were your early mentors or influences, and how did they shape your path?

I am the youngest of four, with three sisters who were great to me. They taught me how to respect people and understand different levels of vulnerability, which is a necessity in business. Power is not just about a person on top–it is about everybody who is involved.

In the art world, I learned much of the business from great art dealers who came from a tradition out of Western Europe such as Richard Desroch, a partner at CRG Gallery, and Susan Sheehan. While enrolled at Cooper Union, I started working for a gallery my freshman year and did so throughout my four years there. My mentors created an environment that forced me to learn through gradual experience–I was not taken aside and taught the procedures. I learned to be present, travel across time zones for in-person meetings and to cherish personal emotional development over immediate monetary reward.

How do you pay their generosity forward?

During my college years, I worked for the Saturday Program, which trained undergraduates to teach high school students. A few years later, I conducted research at Rikers Island for a year, where I developed a curriculum. I realized that I could take my experiences in art business and couple them with certain aspects of the vocational training programs created for jails and prisons, to design an apprenticeship program. I call the program ART or Application, Readiness, and Techniques. It is a hands-on, customized training system that demystifies the art business for those seeking to work in the field.

Who are past or present artists that you feel are under-recognized in the broader market but are essential to our cultural memory?

The artists that we should all know are the artists that are right next to us. Say hi to your neighbor. Be curious. We show many artists who are later in their careers and are not household names—artists who have not played by the rules.

Who is an artist that has really inspired you and pushed you?

When I was younger, I found Kerry James Marshall’s first monograph at a local library. This was before he gained mass recognition. It contained a poetic essay exploring the notion of artists as a sort of gladiator and the nature of the art world, tying into how artists were a part of that system and not naive players without agency. That essay resonated with me at a deep level because it created a picture that showed how the world’s golden eras were made through rupture. If warfare created stability, then that stability created culture. A lot of intense things happen for us to have art. Right now, I am sitting on a train between Zurich and Basel to attend one of the most major art fairs while the world is falling apart.

Even though I have to make deals, I look at these art objects and am in awe of them. That’s one of the most amazing things about art, it cuts through.

Jacqueline Gourevitch Paintings 1965–2018 is open through July 2nd, 2025 and a talk between Gourevitch and her mentee, Glenn Ligon will take place on Wednesday, June 25th, at 4 pm. Storage, 52 Walker, 4^th Floor, 10013, New York, New York.