Like so many artists of his generation, Ajarb Bernard Ategwa began making art by drawing cartoon characters and popular objects—in his case African masks—when he was a child, but once the young Cameroon artist decided later that he wanted to make art his life’s work he began devoting the time and extra effort to learn the needed skills. His one-person exhibition “Garden of Delights” opens at OOA Gallery in Barcelona, Spain on March 16 and runs through April 21, 2024.
A self-taught artist who was often discouraged by others to pursue a creative career, Ategwa initially made realistic portrait drawings that were commissioned by people whom he met while promoting his art on the streets of Cameroon’s coastal city of Douala. Desiring to learn more about other genres of contemporary art, he visited the local galleries and took note of the various techniques being used by practicing artists.
