Dr. Imo Nse Imeh (b. 1980) is an American Nigerian visual artist and art historian. He is a Professor of Art and Art History at Westfield State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Art History from Yale University and his B.A. from Columbia University. His academic work focuses on African and African Diaspora art, including the relationships between ritual, belief, cultural memory, and visual representation.
His artistic practice includes drawing, painting, and mixed media. His work often places the figure within atmospheric environments that explore themes such as spirituality, emotional experience, and cultural identity. His exhibitions, lectures, and academic research contribute to broader discussions of art and the complexities of Black lived experience. His artwork has been shown in museums, galleries, and cultural institutions across the United States.
Dr. Imeh’s work has been exhibited in numerous public venues including the Maison Lune (Los Angeles) for Art Frieze LA 2024, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (Pittsburgh, PA), the Fine Arts Center Galleries of Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio), the Sigal Museum of the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society (Easton, Pennsylvania), the Mariposa Museum (Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts), University Museum of Contemporary Art (Amherst, Massachusetts), the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art (Grand Rapids, Michigan). His work is represented in the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art; in the museum collection of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; as well as in a number of private collections; and it has been featured by the PBS NewsHour, New England Public Media, Orion Magazine, and in the contemporary art and culture magazine Art New England. A series of Dr. Imeh’s works appear on the covers of six 2024 issues of the medical journal Biological Psychiatry, edited by Dr. John Krystal of Yale University. Dr. Imeh has been the recipient of the Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowship for his studio project Benediction, a Project Evolution Grant from the ValleyCreates Program of Mass MoCA and The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, a Holyoke Cultural Council Grant, and the Springfield Cultural Council Grant.
Dr. Imeh earned a BA from Columbia University in 2002 and PhD in the History of African Art from Yale University in 2009. He is Professor of Art and Art History at Westfield State University in Massachusetts.