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Amanda Idowu is a British visual artist who lives and works in London. A painter and printmaker, she is known for her exploration of colour and investigation into texture. Her work is characterised by vibrant colour formations, organic shapes and gestural brushstrokes. Central to her art practice is the exploration of the materiality of paint, the interplay of colour and the focus on searching for a true form of artistic freedom that is borderless, boundless and timeless.  "Colour, no matter how we reference or codify it culturally and socially, is an all-embracing and universal language – it is a form of visual communication that humans have known since the beginning of time and predates the use of written texts,” says Idowu. Inspired by organic form and the subconscious mind, her experimental abstract paintings are a combination of influences that include – but are not limited to – fauvism, automatism and expressionism. Idowu says: "As an artist, I have an affinity with the works of Matisse, the Delaunays and Kandinsky, and their study and observation of colour theory. For me, colour has a function in its own right in creating and shaping form, and in depicting depth, energy and movement.  “I’m interested in colour relationships and the way in which they interact or react to one another. It is the captivating synthesis of colour that has the power to evoke a multitude of feelings and sensations in all living beings.” Amanda Idowu’s starting-point is the organic form. The creation process consists of the initial drawing of a biomorphic or natural shape, which is partly derived from natural objects in her immediate environment but also developed spontaneously from the artist’s unconscious mind.  Fluid swathes of primary and secondary colours are brushed rhythmically across the canvas, often overlapping one another to leave a ‘stained effect’, and gradually built up in layers in a painterly manner.  In some of the artist’s works, paint drips all the way down the canvas, allowing the canvas to move in its own way. Where necessary, Idowu will try to control the fluid movement of paint as she applies intricate colour washes to the canvas. There may be instances where Idowu will paint over paintings with the intention of developing and ‘bringing out’ the image of the painting – but without imposing her own predetermined view of what the work should end up looking like. Ultimately, the work must unravel itself and come to life. For Amanda Idowu, challenging the canon of art history is not simply about looking at the long trajectory of artists (known and unknown) who have come before us, but it is also about understanding where we are today in an intrinsically connected world and how we communicate with one another. ​ Against this contextual back-drop, Idowu explores the dichotomy of the human life experience at a time of great socio-economic and political instability, and the potentially devastating effects of irreversible climate change.   The artist pits fluidity and malleability against structure and constructivist form. There are moments when her work is fluid and harmonious, and at other times ominous and with a machine-like, constructivist quality that echoes the turning wheels of a world in conflict and turmoil. She uses this juxtaposition to question the mercurial quality of the human being - one who quests to take everything, whilst at the same time searching for harmony. Amanda Idowu has exhibited and contributed to projects and collections with art institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the UK. ​ ​