Zak Ové (born 1966) is a British-Trinidad visual artist who works between sculpture, film and photography, living in London and Trinidad.
"[1] In work that is "filtered through his own personal and cultural upbringing, with a black Trinidadian father and white Irish mother", he has exhibited widely in Europe, the United States and Africa,[2] participating in international museum shows in London, Dakar, Paris, Dubai, Prague, Berlin, Johannesburg, Bamako and New York City.
[5] In July 2015, Ové's "Moko Jumbie" sculptures, commissioned to tie in with the Notting Hill Carnival and inspired by aspects of African masquerade, were installed in the Great Court at the British Museum as part of the Celebrating Africa exhibition there,[6] before ultimately being moved to the Africa Galleries, with Ové as the first Caribbean artist to enter the museum’s permanent collection.
[10][11] The journal Art Radar described Ové's work as "one of the standouts of the fair",[12] and the Financial Times reported that it had quickly found a buyer: "Modern Forms, a contemporary art platform founded by Hussam Otaibi, managing partner of the investment group Floreat, and Nick Hackworth, the curator who previously ran London’s Paradise Row gallery, bought one of three editions of the 40 identical, life-size sculptures of Nubian masked men, priced at £300,000, through London’s Vigo gallery.
[15] Described by Ové as "a review and a celebration of our Caribbean and African culture that has permeated and contributed to British society", and taking its starting point as the radical work of his father Horace Ové, the exhibition showcased interdisciplinary contributions from 100 Black creatives, including Armet Francis, Black Audio Film Collective, Charlie Phillips, Dennis Bovell, Ebony G. Patterson, Gaika, Glenn Ligon, Hank Willis Thomas, Hassan Hajjaj, Jenn Nkiru, Larry Achiampong, Margaret Busby, Ronan McKenzie, Vanley Burke, Yinka Shonibare, Denzil Forrester, Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner, Steve McQueen, Betye Saar, Zadie Smith, among others.