A photo of my mother, myself & my partner (left to right) in front of two of my artworks.

A photo of three of my artworks on display at my debut art exhibition.

A photo of me with two of my friends. One of them owns a Nigerian crochet brand called Studio Imo, that designed my dress for the event. We're standing in front of 3 of my artworks.

A photo of a cross-section of the crowd at my debut art exhibition.

There was an amazing amount of love & support on display at Sunday's public opening of the REBIRTH exhibition at Didi Museum.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support my debut as an artist 🖼️

The curators, family, friends, fellow creatives, art connoisseurs: thank you.
#ArtExhibition
#NigerianArt

Creative Arts to Enhance Cervical #Cancer Awareness Using Art-Based Messages From a Nigerian Crowdsourcing Open Call: Qualitative Thematic Analysis Background: Cervical #Cancer is a leading cause of #Cancer deaths among women in Nigeria, yet awareness is low. Historically, art has served as a medium for processing emotions and sharing experiences, which can be effective in promoting health and behavior change. Objective: This study aimed to examine art submissions and social media engagement from a Nigerian crowdsourcing open call to inform co-designed strategies for cervical #Cancer prevention among women. Methods: This study reported following the SRQR (Standard Reporting for Qualitative Research) guideline. From October to November 2023, we launched an open call for art on social media, inviting adult women to submit artwork that raises awareness about cervical #Cancer prevention. Participants’ submissions were anonymized and reviewed by an independent panel of judges. A total of 6 finalists were selected to participate in a social media contest during Cervical #Cancer Elimination Week, and 3 winners were identified based on total social media likes and comments, as well as grading rubric scores. We analyzed participants’ art entries through thematic analysis in six steps: (1) familiarization, (2) creating categories, (3) identifying themes, (4) reviewing themes, (5) defining themes, and (6) discussing findings. The emerging themes included using art to express emotions, to convey health-related content, and to use art as a form of self-regulation, which were further analyzed using the Relationships and Expectations domain of the PEN-3 (perceptions, enablers, and nurturers) cultural model. Results: A total of 43 entries from participants aged 18-27 (mean 22.2, SD 2.6) years were analyzed. The entries included visuals (n=14), audiovisual (n=14), text (n=14), and audio (n=1). Most entries (42/43, 97.6%) focused on cervical #Cancer and human papillomavirus, covering definitions, risk factors, treatment, and prevention. Using the PEN-3 cultural model’s Relationships and Expectations domain for analysis, 62.8% (27/43) addressed “perceptions” of art as a means of mental and emotional expression, reflecting feelings such as humor, sadness, hope, faith, unity, and fear related to cervical #Cancer prevention. A majority (34/43, 79.1%) aimed to promote human papillomavirus screening and vaccination and were categorized as “enablers,” viewing art as a tool for health awareness, including educational resources. Additionally, 7% (3/43) included “nurturers,” representing self-regulation addressing stresses linked to having relatives with cervical #Cancer. Six finalist entries were shared on social media to promote cervical #Cancer awareness, reaching 8685 individual Instagram accounts and generating 2727 likes and 782 comments. Conclusions: This study used art to increase awareness about cervical #Cancer on social media. Art can serve as a tool for promoting health by incorporating visual, emotional, and contextual messages to influence the target audience’s behavior.

JMIR Formative Res: Creative Arts to Enhance Cervical #Cancer Awareness Using Art-Based Messages From a Nigerian Crowdsourcing Open Call: Qualitative Thematic Analysis #CervicalCancer #CancerAwareness #ArtForHealth #NigerianArt #HealthEducation

Against a deep, midnight-blue background on a square canvas, the artist’s face emerges in warm beiges and creams, angled down and slightly to the side. Heavy-lidded eyes look inward rather than meeting ours. Her nose is softly modeled. Full lips are painted a saturated red. One hand rises beside her head, as if pausing a thought, setting a boundary, or shielding from glare. Her dark hair is gathered into an expansive, sculptural mass, edged with quick, light strokes that read like comb marks catching light. Broad, matte planes and visible brush-drag keep the surface tender and intentional to be present, but not polished. Made early in Nigerian artist Modupeola Fadugba’s professional turn toward art, this 2014 self-portrait carries the logic of her wider practice of a mind trained in systems (chemical engineering and economics) and education, now using paint to ask how “value” is assigned and who gets to be legible, desirable, or believed. Instead of a front-facing declaration, she offers interiority. Her lowered gaze refuses the demand to perform while her lifted hand quietly regulates access. Even the hair brcomes architecture as protective, weighty, and self-authored to suggest that identity is built, maintained, and sometimes defended. Shown later at Temple Muse in Lagos (curated by SMO Contemporary Art), the portrait resonates with the language of navigating a “sea” of competition while remembering cooperation and communal care. The limited palette compresses the body into essentials (face, gesture, hair, mouth), as if saying that before the world appraises me, I decide what I will reveal. The red mouth, especially, doesn’t feel like decoration so much as insistence on a voice held in reserve. By leaving brushwork visible, Fadugba keeps herself from becoming a product. Instead, the portrait becomes an ethics of looking and likely asking us to honor a Black woman’s private life without turning it into a spectacle.

“Self Portrait for 2014” by Modupeola Fadugba (Nigerian) - Acrylic on canvas / 2014 - Temple Muse (Lagos, Nigeria) #WomenInArt #art #artText #artwork #BlueskyArt #ContemporaryArt #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #ModupeolaFadugba #Fadugba #TempleMuse #SelfPortrait #NigerianArt #NigerianArtist

Painted in 1967, a few years after Nigeria’s independence, this untitled portrait reflects artist Akinola Lasekan’s commitment to portraying Nigerians with seriousness and grace rather than as ethnographic types. Recognized as a pioneer of Nigerian modernism and especially admired for portraiture, Lasekan combined formal training under British educator Kenneth Murray with close observation of everyday people, using color and light to affirm their individuality. This vertical bust-length portrait depicts a Black woman facing slightly left against a curtain-like wash of mint and teal greens. Her deep brown skin is modeled with warm highlights across her forehead, nose, and collarbones, and a small scar on one cheek. She wears a tall, carefully wrapped pink and peach head tie that twists into a knot above her head, echoing the soft folds of cloth at her shoulders. Her blouse is patterned with narrow vertical stripes of rose, coral, and pale cream, as its rounded neckline frames the strong column of her neck. Long gold earrings with rounded drops hang just below her jawline. Her dark eyes are focused, but not on us. Her lips are gently closed, giving her expression a mix of composure and quiet resolve. Soft, blended brushstrokes keep surfaces smooth while faint vertical bands in the background suggest fabric behind her, keeping all attention on her calm, dignified presence. The woman’s elaborate head wrap, striped dress, and possible facial marks signal cultural rootedness, yet her direct, weighing gaze feels unmistakably contemporary. Set against the luminous green field, she appears neither idealized nor romanticized, but present as a thinking person who holds our look. By centering a Black woman as the sole subject, with no narrative scene around her, Lasekan quietly challenges colonial hierarchies that had long marginalized Africans. The work conveys beauty, self-possession, and the importance of seeing Nigerian women as protagonists in their own visual histories.

"Untitled" by Akinola Lasekan (Nigerian) - Oil on board / 1967 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University (Lagos, Nigeria) #WomenInArt #AkinolaLasekan #Lasekan #art #artText #BlueskyArt #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #YSMA #Pan-AtlanticUniversity #NigerianArt #AfricanPortrait #NigerianArtist

Opeyemi Matthew Olukotun

#NigerianArtist painting primarily with acrylics

#OpeyemiMatthewOlukotun #art #artist #portraits #portraitpainter #acrylics #nigerianart #africanart #africanartist #nigeria #portraiture #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #artworld #artistoftheday #OpeyemiOlukotun

Opeyemi Matthew Olukotun

#NigerianArtist painting primarily with acrylics

#OpeyemiMatthewOlukotun #art #artist #portraits #portraitpainter #acrylics #nigerianart #africanart #africanartist #nigeria #portraiture #contemporaryart #contemporaryartist #artworld #artistoftheday #OpeyemiOlukotun

Nigerian artist Paschal Kenechukwu Okafor’s title for this oil painting directs us to see these animals not as props but as co-equal subjects that guides in loyalty, patience, nonverbal care, and the constancy of love that precedes and outlasts romance. A young Black woman with warm brown skin sits turned slightly to her right, meeting us with a steady, reflective gaze. Her features are delicately modeled, but with bright highlights along her cheekbones, brow, and nose catching directional light. An intricate, sculptural hairstyle arcs above her head like looping black filigree, echoing both crown and halo. She wears a deep blue-black dress with voluminous sleeves and a crisp white ruff framing her neck and hands. Its bright folds sharpening the contrast against a muted earth-brown background. Two sleek black cats press into her arms: one cradled securely across her bosom, the other perched higher, its alert eyes parallel to hers. Their bodies form a dark triangle of weight and warmth against her torso, emphasizing touch, fur, and closeness. The surface is rich but controlled, with visible brushwork that softens edges while keeping every gaze intensely present. The young woman, likely a composite rather than a named individual, stands in for Black women whose emotional labor and tenderness are too often assumed yet rarely monumentalized. Her courtly collar and composed pose quote European portrait traditions, but here nobility is grounded in everyday intimacy by the trust of two black cats (creatures historically stigmatized, now calmly adored). Born in 1996 in Nigeria and working through galleries such as TAAG, Okafor is part of a rising generation of West African painters who reclaim representation on their own terms by fusing classical technique, spiritual subtext, and contemporary Black life to insist that softness, guardianship, and interspecies kinship are worthy of grand, iconic paint.

"Not all who teach us about love are human" by Paschal Kenechukwu Okafor (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 2024 - TAAG Gallery (New York) #WomenInArt #PaschalKenechukwuOkafor #Okafor #NigerianArt #ContemporaryAfricanArt #BlackArt #CatLovers #art #artText #artwork #arte #BlueskyArt #NigerianArtist #CatArt

Created in 1999, “Mami Wata” revisits the Yoruba-derived and pan-African water spirit venerated across West and Central Africa and its diasporas. Artist Moyo Ogundipe, born in Ijesha-Ishu, Nigeria and later active in Denver, Colorado, merges African cosmology with Western compositional abstraction. The artist’s luminous palette and spiritual iconography recall both Ifa metaphysics and modernist dreamscapes, presenting “Mami Wata” as protector, seductress, and symbol of cultural duality. In a lush field of blue, turquoise, emerald, and coral hues, a central female figure emerges with shimmering, water-like skin tones that seem to shift between deep bronze and violet reflections. Her elongated body arcs gracefully amid aquatic symbols of fish, serpentine forms, and ripples of white light that surround her like living current. Beaded ornaments glint at her wrists; waves and sea creatures swirl around her torso in rhythmic motion. Her gaze is serene yet knowing, bridging myth and mortality. Behind her, abstract currents dissolve any horizon, creating a sense of boundless, sacred water. The painting’s layered textures invite tactile perception, capturing movement, reflection, and the pulse of oceanic breath as if we are submerged in color. She is both seductress and healer, embodying the spiritual power of water as life source and transformation. Ogundipe’s interpretation merges sacred myth with modern consciousness: rather than depict Mami Wata as a folkloric mermaid, he envisions her as an archetype of African modernity that is cosmic, self-possessed, transcendent of gender binaries, and culturally unbounded. The rhythmic layering of motifs recalls the fractal geometry of Yoruba design, while his color harmonies of cool blues offset by scarlet and gold blend ocean and human spirit. For Ogundipe, who described his art as “visual philosophy and spiritual autobiography,” this painting was a meditation on identity and belonging.

“Mami Wata” by Moyo Ogundipe (Nigerian – American) – Acrylic on canvas / 1999 – Collection of Chike Obianwu (Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and its Diasporas Exhibition) #WomenInArt #art #artText #artwork #MoyoOgundipe #BlueskyArt #symbolism #NigerianArtist #NigerianArt #AcrylicArt

[New Post]
A Dazzling Fusion: Nigerian Art Meets Wajima-nuri at Kanazawa 21st Century Museum

#NigerianArt #WajimaNuri #KanazawaArt #ContemporaryCrafts mos-wabisabi-en.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-dazzling-fusio...

In “Red Veil (Not a Time to Dance),” Nigerian artist John Madu stages a moment of ascent marked by tension and symbolism. A veiled Black woman, her eyes serious, climbs a staircase with yellow treads and a wooden banister inside a vivid pink room. Draped in a striking red veil, she appears purposeful yet solitary. Above her hangs a reproduction of Henri Matisse’s Dance II (1910, Hermitage Museum), tilted to mirror the angle of the stairs. Its joyous circle of dancers, an emblem of freedom and collective harmony, is displaced here, unreachable and silent. Madu, a self-taught Lagos-born artist, blends African histories, global pop culture, and art-historical references in his vivid, layered canvases. Here, he contrasts Matisse’s vision of communal ecstasy with solitude. The subtitle, “Not a Time to Dance,” underscores the disruption: there is no hand extended to invite her into the dance. The painting becomes a metaphor for oppression, restraint, and resilience, reflecting contemporary realities in Nigeria. By inserting “Dance (II)” into his work, Madu creates dialogue across centuries. Matisse’s masterpiece, commissioned for Sergei Shchukin, was once paired with Music; both works celebrated rhythm and human vitality. The museum notes a deeper lineage: the clasped hands in William Blake’s paintings resonate in Matisse, but here, Madu leaves the hands apart, denying unity. The red veil carries layers of meaning like mourning, ritual, concealment while the climb itself suggests determination amid constraint. Painted in 2020, during a year of global upheaval, “Red Veil (Not a Time to Dance)” embodies Madu’s distinctive fusion of symbolism and critique. It offers no easy resolution. Instead, it insists on reflection, asking us to consider isolation, agency, and the unfinished struggle for freedom.

“Red Veil (Not a Time to Dance)” by
John Madu (Nigerian) - Acrylic on canvas / 2020 - Ueshima Museum (Tokyo, Japan) #WomenInArt #art #FigurativeArt #ArtText #JohnMadu #Madu #UeshimaMuseum #Ueshima #AcrylicArt #artwork #BlueskyArt #surrealism #PopSurrealism #NigerianArt #Afrofuturism #NigerianArtist

Ben Enwonwu, also known as Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu, was a prominent Nigerian artist of Igbo descent who created multiple works featuring Fulani subjects, particularly in the 1940s and 1950s such as "Fulani Girl of Rupp.” Enwonwu's art often explored themes of African identity and modernism, with his Fulani works reflecting his interest in diverse ethnic groups within Nigeria as part of his broader exploration of African identity and his desire to create a modern visual language rooted in African aesthetics. His work often incorporated elements of traditional African art while embracing modernist artistic styles. The painting is a profile portrait of an unidentified dark-skinned young woman, rendered in a style that combines elements of realism and expressionism. She is shown from the chest up, in profile view, facing to our right. She wears a dark, close-fitting headwrap. Large, golden hoop earrings adorn her ears, and a striking silver ornament is visible near her right ear. Her neck is laden with numerous necklaces of varying lengths and colors composed of beads and strands in shades of purple, orange, yellow, and white, creating a rich tapestry of color against her dark skin. Some necklaces have noticeable tassels or fringes. Beneath the necklaces, a light-colored, almost white wrap is visible across her chest. The dark and muted background uses predominantly dark greens, browns, and oranges, creating a subtle sense of depth and contrast to emphasize the woman and her adornments. Enwonwu’s use of rich colors, expressive brushstrokes, and the woman's expression creates a sense of both beauty and mystery. The painting captures not just a physical likeness, but also conveys the inner strength and cultural identity of the young African woman. Enwonwu was among the first artists from the African continent to gain global visibility. In the same year (1949) as this portrait, Ebony Magazine called him “Africa’s greatest artist”.

“Fulani Girl of Rupp” by Ben Enwonwu (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 1949 - Hampton University Museum (Virginia) #WomenInArt #art #artwork #NigerianArt #BenEnwonwu #Enwonwu #HamptonUniversityMuseum #HamptonUniversity #PortraitofaGirl #NigerianArtist #oilpainting #Fulani #fula #beauty #BlueskyArt

Nigerian artist Ifeyinwa Joy Chiamonwu showcases an unidentified dark-skinned young woman, her face the central focus, wearing a bright and colorful headwrap and dress. The headwrap is primarily teal, yellow, and red, tied in a way that drapes down her left shoulder. Her dress is a similar pattern, a strapless design that wraps around her body. Large seashell earrings adorn her ears, complementing the overall aesthetic. Her big beautiful smile and gleam in her eyes project noticeable joy. Her black hair is styled in thick braids that cascade down her back. Her hands, with white nails, are gently holding the tip of her headscarf. The background is a soft, light beige, which contrasts the richness of the woman's clothing and skin tone, drawing our attention to the woman without distracting details. With warmth and vibrancy, the mood suggests a celebration of African culture and beauty. The style is realistic and hyperrealistic, with sharp lines and vibrant coloring that creates a sense of depth and texture. Chiamonwu, born in 1995 in Maiduguri and rooted in the land of Anambra, is an artist whose work stands as an ancestral song, an ode to tradition and familial culture. From a young age, she found expression in art, eventually pursuing a degree in Education at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Her works form a living tapestry of Igbo roots, an ethnic community in Nigeria, enriched by a desire to preserve and transmit cultural heritage in the face of modernity and Westernization pressures. Lacking traditional artistic training, Chiamonwu adeptly handles charcoal, sanguine, pastels, acrylics, and coffee stains, using these materials to trace faces and stories that communicate immediately. Her portraits are not merely images but nearly mythical narratives of friends and family, elevated to legendary and historical figures. In this way, the artist immortalizes the stories, traditions, and values of the Igbo people, celebrating their richness, uniqueness, and poetic power.

“Nwanyinma (Beautiful woman)” by Ifeyinwa Joy Chiamonwu (Nigerian) - Sanguine, sepia, charcoal and acrylic paint on canvas / 2023 - Mattatuck Museum (Waterbury, Connecticut) #WomenInArt #art #WomanArtist #ArtText #WomenArtists #WomensArt #MattatuckMuseum #IfeyinwaJoyChiamonwu #Chiamonwu #NigerianArt

Watch Nigerian Artist Jacqueline Suowari Turn Ballpoint Pens Into Magic Jacqueline Suowari, the Nigerian artist renowned for her monumental Afro-urban ballpoint pen art, continues to draw global attention with her intricate linework… The post Watch Nigerian Artist Jacqueline Suowari Turn Ballpoint Pens Into Magic appeared first on Shine My Crown.

Watch Nigerian Artist Jacqueline Suowari Turn Ballpoint Pens Into Magic: Jacqueline Suowari, the Nigerian artist renowned for her monumental Afro-urban ballpoint pen art, continues to draw global attention with her… #JacquelineSuowari #NigerianArt #BallpointPenArt #AfroUrbanArt #ArtInspiration

In his oil painting "Hope," Nigerian artist Aina Onabolu portrays an African woman selling fruits in what might be a village market. With her head cocked and looking directly at us, she comfortably sits on a bench, under a shed alongside her covered basket which has some sample oranges she is selling displayed on the lid in stacks of four, a typical arrangement one would might see in local markets. Oranges are a well cultivated and consumed commodity nationwide. The act of selling fruits goes way back in time and is still a very common tradition among women of different ethnic groups all over Nigeria today. This scene symbolizes the hope and sustenance such trade provides. Onabolu’s mature use of color—mixing grey, rusty yellow, brown, and black—adds depth and warmth to the scene, creating a timeless snapshot of local life. Onabolu, widely regarded as the "father of modern Nigerian art," was born in Ijebu-Ode in 1882. From a young age, he demonstrated an innate talent for drawing, by copying photographs and illustrations from European magazines. At 12, he was already designing charts and visual aids for schoolteachers. Onabolu’s 1906 portrait "Mrs. Spencer Savage" is considered one of the earliest modern artworks by a Nigerian artist. He is the first Nigerian known to receive formal art education in Europe, studying at Académie Julian in Paris and later at the Royal Academy of Art in London, where he earned certificates in oil painting and fine art. His contributions to the development of art education in Nigeria were profound, and he played a key role in inviting British art educator Kenneth Murray to the country. Onabolu's influence endures, and he was posthumously inducted into the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Hall of Fame in 2018.

"Hope" by Aina Onabolu (Nigerian) - Oil on board / 1947 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (Lagos, Nigeria) #WomenInArt #hope #NigerianArt #ArtText #art #AinaOnabolu #NigerianArtist #womensart #portraitofawoman #OilPainting #FineArt #ModernArt #artwork #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #Pan-AtlanticUniversity

"African Elegance" by Nigerian artist Kolade Adekunle Oshinowo is a portrait of a young dark-skinned lady in side view with her hair styled in cornrows and her neck portrayed long and slender. The rays of light around her facial features highlight both of these elements and, in turn, gives them a profound look. Shapes and patterns can be seen portrayed on the background of the painting using a color palette of shades of brown with some red, warm blue, and yellow ochre highlights. Her outlook and expression is filled with beauty, simplicity, grace, and humility typical of a young, modern, and elegant African woman. Oshinowo is a well-respected contemporary Nigerian painter and teacher born in Ibadan in 1948. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1972, majoring in painting. He was a teacher at King’s College, Lagos. In 1973, he started lecturing part-time at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos. Eventually, he joined the institution full time in 1974 and would spend the next 35 years there in service, teaching and inspiring generations of talent to become great artists. From 1990, he was the chief lecturer and director, School of Art, Design & Printing, YABATECH. Oshinowo is very passionate about his profession as an artist and believes in the unique role of art for a better society. He would instill these ideals and values upon his students making them see their profession beyond illustrations, drawing, painting and sculpting. As a prolific painter, he loves exploring themes on urban life, events or activities in his surroundings, and everyday life in the larger society. He is also famous for portraiture and has executed numerous portraits of famous Nigerians as private commissions. As we see here, women are frequently a central theme in his paintings.

African Elegance by Kolade Oshinowo (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 2007 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (Lagos Nigeria) #womeninart #oilpainting #art #womensart #KoladeOshinowo #NigerianArtist #artwork #NigerianArt #portraitofawoman #AfricanArt #beauty #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #Pan-AtlanticUniversity

This wonderful stylized portrait depicts a young Nigerian woman in vibrant, patterned clothing seated on a gray floor with her hands clasped on her feet, set against a backdrop of a simple off-white wall and vines of trailing red leaves. Her skin is rendered in a cubist style, broken down into geometric shapes and patches of color – light blues, tans, creams, and browns, all blended to create a sense of depth and form. She has dark hair pulled back into a high bun decorated with yellow accents and she wears a single earring. The cubist approach to the figure's form contrasts with the folk-art feel of the clothing's decoration, creating a unique aesthetic. Nigerian visual artist REWA (Rewa Ugoji) creates work that represents and glorifies women in their numerous forms; as goddesses, as travelers and most recently, as inexorable forces behind naming rites of the Igbo culture (primarily from southeastern Nigeria). Never having received formal art training, REWA is self-taught and developed her innate talent from a very early age. Growing up, her father encouraged her creative drive, his expansive art collection from West Africa, providing further impetus for her development. She finds that her spirit is moved by what she refers to as "depicted sentience" and through the celebration of the female form and bright, vivid colors. Her preferred medium of acrylics and ink on canvas provide the immediacy, proximity and transparency to express her most personal experiences and influences living between Lagos, London and Johannesburg, cities she considers home. Her hope is that one day, my work will be included in art historical dialogue about Africa and specifically Nigeria, beyond the confines of the wide-reaching Contemporary African Art designation."

Josephine and her dress of many colors by REWA (Rewa Ugoji, Nigerian) - Acrylic and ink on canvas / 2019 - Rele Arts Foundation (Lagos, Nigeria) #womeninart #art #acrylicpainting #REWA #NigerianArt #ReleArtsFoundation #womensart #womenpaintingwomen #womanartist #femaleartist #NigerianArtist #fineart

Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, and with it the country was in search of a new post-colonial identity. Ben Enwonwu became an advocate for a new Nigerian national culture and a pioneer of African modernism. By his passing in 1994, the artist was considered one of the most revered African artists of the 20th century. Enwonwu was born in 1917 in Onitsha, eastern Nigeria, to a mother who ran a textile business and a father who was a reputable sculptor, from whom the artist learned his early carving skills. By 1949, Enwonwu was declared by Time magazine as “Africa’s Greatest Artist.” Christine sits up tall and elegant with subtle emotion conveyed through her gentle smile and a sense of ease in her eyes. Her mesmeric frontal gaze, along with her torso positioned in an outward and angular manner is regal and dignified. The light takes on a luminescent character, forming a halo and giving an iridescent and angelic glow. Enwonwu’s loose brush strokes and vibrant oil captures Christine transient beauty. The portrayal of her long-neck, glowing bronze skin, curved lips and delicate smile are testament of the warmth and grace of the sitter. Her devotion and composure are conveyed in the portrait and is a testament of the trust and complicity between the artist and Christine. Christine was born in New York and moved to Ghana to reside with her stepfather in the 1920s before relocating to Lagos, Nigeria in 1969. In Lagos, Christine and her husband Elvis developed a close friendship with Enwonwu. She is depicted wearing a beautifully tied yellow gold headscarf called ‘gele’, which signifies her married status. Although Christine was not born in Lagos or Nigeria, her attire shows an affinity with the region and a deep respect for West African tradition.

Christine (Davis) by Ben Enwonwu (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 1971 #womeninart #portraitofawoman #art #NigerianArt #oilpainting #artwork #womensart #NigerianArtist #BenEnwonwu #beauty #fineart #portrait #gele #oiloncanvas #AfricanArt #AfricanArtist #painting #Enwonwu #bskyart #artoftheday #artbsky

Nigerian artist Oliver Enwonwu's beautiful oil on canvas depiction of a dark-skinned woman in profile blends realism with a touch of romanticism for a stunning and memorable portrait. Her gaze is directed to the left of the frame, conveying both sophistication and introspection. Against a muted and blurred background that almost glows behind her like a spotlight, her exposed shoulders and beauty convey a sense of intimacy and vulnerability while keeping our focus entirely on the subject. Enwonwu has carefully detailed the woman's alluring features. Her face is elegantly shaped, and her expression is serene and composed; almost stoic. Her skin is rich and dark, with subtle gradations of light and shadow highlighting her cheekbones and the planes of her face. The artist's close attention to the subtle shadows and highlights in her skin, make it appear soft and smooth yet rich in tone. She wears a luxuriously colored, ochre-gold headwrap (a gele) which is draped dramatically around her head depicted with deep, visible folds and shadows, giving a sense of texture. She also wears a splendid darker gold-toned fabric draped around her shoulders, and a delicate gold necklace with a small pendant. The necklace, and her small earrings, draw the eye to her neck and décolletage. With a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, Enwonwu is earning his PHD in African Art History at University of Benin. He comes from a long line of remarkable artists, including his sculptor grandfather and his father pioneer modernist Ben Enwonwu, In his work, Oliver elevates Black culture to challenge racial injustice and systemic racism by celebrating the cultural, political and socioeconomic achievements of Africans through an examination of African spirituality, Black identity and migration, contemporary African politics, Pan-Africanism, and the global Africa empowerment movement.

Ebony by Oliver Enwonwu (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 2020 - SMO Contemporary Art (Lagos, Nigeria) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #portraitofawoman #OliverEnwonwu #NigerianArtist #artwork #SMOcontemporaryart #fineart #womensart #AfricanArt #NigerianArt #portrait #beauty #ebony #ContemporaryArt #style

Akinola Lasekan was born S.A Oladetimi in Owo, Ondo State in 1916 and changed his name in 1941. He was one of the pioneers of Nigerian modernism in art who was famous for portraiture. He was a self-thought artist before his colonial art education by the then British administration in the early 20th century. He was part of the first set of students formally trained by the English art teacher, Kenneth Murray who was sent to Nigeria by the colonial education department. His career started as a textile designer with the Compagnie Française-Africaine Occidental in 1935. Between 1936 to 1940 he worked with the Church Missionary Society (CMS) Bookshop, Lagos where he created bible story illustrations and calendars. In the 1940’s, he became one of Nigeria’s first indigenous formal art educators and taught in government colleges and mission schools. In 1961, he joined the faculty of the new School of Fine Arts, now the Department of Fine and Applied Art, of the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Lasekan’s artworks capture Nigeria’s landscape, people, culture, and political climate in the 1940s and 50s. His 38-year art career brimmed with beauty, innovation, and advocacy. He utilized easel painting to express the beauty and humanity of Nigeria and its people while simultaneously attacking the British colonial system with nationalistic political cartoons. His mastery and use of these Western art forms contradicted the narrative of European superiority and African inferiority. Abike portrays a beautiful young woman, likely in her early twenties, with dark complexion, smooth skin, expressive eyes, and large gentle smile. Her hair is under a large lavender headwrap scarf. She is wearing a loose-fitting light pink top with small, bright floral and geometric patterns. Set against a muted mustard and pastel yellow background, our focus is drawn to her beauty and smiling expression as she looks off to her right.

Abike by Akinola Lasekan (Nigerian) - Pastel on paper / c. 1940s - Hampton University Museum (Virginia) #womeninart #portrait #art #pastelpainting #nigerianart #hamptonuniversity #artwork #fineart #portraitofawoman #AkinolaLasekan #nigerianartist #modernism #womensart #pastel #beauty #smile #artbsky

Bibeli Mimo, the Yorùbá term for the Holy Bible, is a 1950 portrait of an older Yoruba woman peacefully looking directly at us in a sitting position with the holy book in her hands. The Yoruba people live in a region in West Africa throughout parts of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Sierra Leone and speak Yorùbá. She is dressed like a typical Christian of the region and time, perhaps set for a church service. Possibly because the portrait was painted during the colonial period, Onabolu chose to explore a Christian religious theme, probably to showcase the acceptance of the "new religion" of the colonial masters by his people. The first Yoruba translation of the bible was published as Bibeli Mimo in 1900 after being translated by into Yorùbá by Samuel Ajayi Crowther in the mid-1880s. Considered by many as the "father of modern Nigerian art," Aina Onabolu loved to explore themes surrounding Yoruba myths and culture, the environment and life around him in his paintings. He was born in 1882 in Ijebu-Ode, to Jacob Onabolu, a successful Ijebu merchant, and Oshunjente Onabolu, a trader. He started his primary education at St. Saviour Primary School, Ijebu-Ode in 1892. At this period of his life, he had begun to develop a strong passion for art and practiced by imitating photographs and illustrations in European magazines and books. Onabolu had become a skilled illustrator who designed charts and visual aids for school teachers at the age of 12. One of his notable portraits titled “Mrs. Spencer Savage”, 1906, is lauded as one the earliest outstanding works of modern Nigerian art. He was the first Nigerian artist to receive formal training from Europe at Académie Julian in Paris and the Royal academy of art in London. In 2018, Aina Onabolu was inducted posthumously into the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Hall of Fame for his distinguished service to the nation and his immense contribution to the development of modern art and the teaching and practice of art in Nigeria.

Bibeli Mimo by Aina Onabolu (Nigerian) - Oil on canvas / 1950 - Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art - YSMA (Lagos, Nigeria) #womeninart #AinaOnabolu #art #portrait #womensart #oilpainting #portraitofawoman #bible #holybible #BibeliMimo #womensart #YemisiShyllonMuseumofArt #bibelimimo #fineart #nigerianart

Meet Ejiro Blessing Fenegal: A Rising Star Carving Out A Place in the Art World Ejiro Blessing Fenegal is a name to watch in the art world. A talented Nigerian sculptor, Ejiro’s journey into the world of… The post Meet Ejiro Blessing Fenegal: A Rising Star Carving Out A Place in the Art World appeared first on Shine My Crown.

Meet Ejiro Blessing Fenegal: A Rising Star Carving Out A Place in the Art World: Ejiro Blessing Fenegal is a name to watch in the art world. A talented Nigerian sculptor, Ejiro’s journey into the world of…


The post Meet Ejiro Blessing… #Art #Sculpture #EmergingArtist #NigerianArt #ContemporaryArt

“Spring” 2024 was one of my first creations. A glassblown vase with flame worked fishes & flowers #blackgirls&glass #glassblowing #blackpioneers #nigerianart