Nigeria
Born in: 1966
Sculpture
Ato Arinze is a sculptor, potter, art consultant, and artist manager. Born in Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria on September 23rd, 1966, he obtained his Higher National Diploma certificate from the Yaba College of Technology in 1991. In 1993, he had a short stint with the iconic Abayomi Barber at the University of Lagos where he learned portrait sculpture.
His works are basically centered on the premise of using art as a tool for recording history in visual form, hence his current preoccupation with sculpting portraits heads, busts, and statues of great personalities in Nigeria and around the world. Ato received the Solidra Award for Sculpture in 2002 and the distinguished Artist Award of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos State Chapter in 2008. He has a host of sculptural commissions to his credit, among which is the bust of the first President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, and recently the bust of Chief F. R. A Williams, SAN.