In New York City, there’s no shortage of things that command attention. We casually round corners to captivation, and open doors onto moments that invite wonder. In Harlem specifically, a flood of fine art is weaving anthropology and identity into renewed visions of peace and protest. One exhibit in particular closed out 2025, and created a pathway for more artists in the new year.
“Only Human” marked the debut exhibition for Victor Chigozie Anachuna at the Curtiss Jacobs Gallery back in November. While the exhibit has now come to a close, its presence lingers. What hung on the walls extended far beyond pigment and canvas; each work carried a declaration. The beauty lies not only in form, but in the conviction embedded within it.
“This is the only power I have”, said Anachuna. “This is how I feel I can actually make a change in the world because I see these things happening.”
At just 21, Anachuna hails from Lagos, Nigeria, and describes his practice as contemporary realism. His instinct for experimentation remains grounded in lived reality, coloring carefully within the world he constructs. To experience “Only Human” is to witness an African Renaissance, the wildest dreams of our ancestors depicted with a classical flair.
“There is also a very specific visual language at work,” said Curtiss Jacobs, owner of the gallery displaying Anachuna’s work. “The discipline of classical painting meets Nigerian subject matter and contemporary social realities. The figures feel timeless and very present at the same time, which gives the show a spiritual and emotional weight that is distinct within our program.”
Jacobs’ gallery has been a global epicenter for Black creativity, for 16 years, in Harlem. Jacobs himself has been a catalyst and preserver of Black culture for decades prior. After spending much of last year on hiatus, “Only Human” woke up the neighborhood and arrived in harmony with the opening of the Studio Museum of Harlem.
“It felt important that, as people return to Harlem for art, they encounter an exhibition that speaks directly to humanity, protest, care, and Black dignity on a global scale,” said Jacobs. “Only Human was our way of marking this new chapter for the gallery and for the larger Harlem arts ecosystem.”
The exhibition represented the convergence of Jacobs’ curatorial experience with Anachuna’s fiery youthfulness, working in tandem to produce the spellbinding work on view. Jacobs notes that because Anachuna is in his early twenties, his perspective is very present in the work.
“His paintings speak from inside that experience rather than from a safe historical distance,” said Jacobs. “He does not treat youth as a license to be casual about the craft. He approaches painting with the seriousness of someone much older. That mix of youthful urgency and old soul discipline is part of what makes this body of work so compelling.”
I’ve witnessed the gravitational pull these paintings had on passersby. I’ve seen men, women, and children stopping mid-stride into stillness. But holding an audience was only one facet of Anachuna’s ambition.
“I set out to capture a moment or a series of moments,” Anachuna said. “It’s important to honor every instance in which we form ourselves anew.”
Anachuna understood that just as each viewer brings a unique interpretation to his work, individuals experience history in deeply personal and visceral ways. While Victor sees artists like Kehinde Wiley as some of his greatest influences, being an observer of history has shaped him profoundly. One of the most violent and traumatic times that Anachuna lived through was Nigeria’s #EndSARS protests in 2020. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds more injured in a period marked by groundswells of bloodshed and cries for social justice around the world. Though he was too young to protest in the streets, Anachuna found another way to speak.
“I had to support online and through storytelling and through composing things that helped express this angst,” he said. “I was connected to the people who did protest. Feeling empathy, beauty, pain, and joy in their emotions.
Anachuna understands his role as the artist and observer, but in a way, he serves as a translator as well. His imagery constructs a shared language capable of bridging geographies and experiences. At its core, “Only Human” exists to pass along the simple concept of empathy. Anachuna wants to use these stories to help the viewer find space for peaceful and loving interactions with others.
“This is about human connection,” Anachuna said. “It’s about the influence we have on one another. We are made from the bonds that shape us from the moment we’re born.”
In the wake of the exhibition, Jacobs reflects on “Only Human’s” impact while looking toward the future of the gallery and Harlem’s art scene. He understands that, much like the passion that Anachuna emits because of his youth, inspiring the next generation is a task of his gallery, and the surrounding art houses.
“We regularly invite parents who are passing by to bring their children inside, even if they have never been in a gallery before,” said Jacobs. “Sparking that curiosity and planting the idea that they can be artists, collectors, or cultural leaders is part of how galleries, and institutions together shape Harlem’s present and future.”
The fantastic work of “Only Human” by Victor Chigozie Anachuna can still be viewed online, with an opportunity for ownership for interested collectors. For more information, visit curtissjacobs.gallery.