Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, and is also one of the richest cultures on the globe, with art being one of the country’s mediums of expression. Below is a list of some of the top rated artists from the country. It contains artists whose works range from paintings and sculptures to photography and mixed media. Explore Nigerian culture through these impressive artists.
Bruce Onobrakpeya
One of Africa’s most recognized artists, Bruce Onobrakpeya can be considered one of the founding figures of modern Nigerian art. The mixed media artist has been exhibited at the Tate Modern, Smithsonian and around Europe and Africa. Bruce Onobrakpeya was born in Agbarha-Otor in Delta State, son of an Urhobo carver. He was raised as a Christian, but also learned the traditional beliefs. His family moved to Benin City, Edo State, when he was a child. He attended Western Boys High School, where he was taught art by Edward Ivehivboje, among other subjects. He also attended drawing classes at the British Council Art Club in Benin City. Onobrakpeya was inspired by the watercolour paintings of Emmanuel Erabor. After leaving high school, Onobrakpeya was hired as an art teacher at the Western Boys High School (1953–56). In 1956 he left for Ondo, where he taught at the Ondo Boys High School for a year.
Olumide Oresegun
Olumide Oresegun was born in 1981 in Lagos. A distinction HND graduate of Painting from Yaba College of Technology in 2006, ‘Olu Van Gogh’ (his nicknamed by his classmates because of his painting skills) was greatly influenced by his lecturers some of whom include the well resected Kolade Oshinowo, Peter Coker to mention a few. Since his graduation, Olu has participated in numerous group exhibitions, and has had (2) solo exhibition.
Olumide experienced an unbelievable sensation of neo-classical and installation art when he visited the ARCO 2009 exhibition in Madrid, Spain. The detailing of Peter paul Reuben’s work both mesmerized and challenged him to focus more on pushing realism to stage of hyper-realism by creating a barrier between realism and abstraction in his own work. Olumide was featured on CNN African Voices in March 2016 as part of a feature on artists making waves. This painter, who has been working for years, came into global attention via social media with his hyper-realistic oil paintings. Olumide Oresegun is a graduate of fine arts and has been exhibited locally, extensively.
Victor Ehikhamenor
One of the most popular artists from Nigeria, Victor Ehikhamenor, is influenced by traditional African motifs and religious cosmology. He is also a writer and has been the recipient of multiple fellowships, residencies and awards. His exhibitions have been held across Africa, Asia, Europe and America.
Victor Ehikhamenor’s Wealth of Nations installation
©Victor
Peju Alatise
Architecture degree holder and artist Peju Alatise is also a poet. She specializes in mixed media. Her subjects often cover issues like identity and female perceptions and reflections within themselves and society. As well as being exhibited in her home country, Peju had her work featured abroad, as part of a residency at the Smithsonian in the US.
Higher Horses, 2014
© Yinka Akingbade
Nike Davies-Okundaye
Chief Nike, as she is fondly referred to, is the founder of Nike’s Gallery, the largest in West Africa. She is an artist and textile designer famous for her batik weaving and dyeing workshops and her elaborate and intricately designed art. Her works feature scenes of everyday Nigerian life, in vivid, unforgettable colors. Her artwork is available to view at the Gallery of African Art.
A Group of Friends, 2004
Courtesy of the Gallery of African Art (GAFRA)
Ade Adekola
The conceptual photographer and artist based in Lagos has been documenting the city since 2005. His work often combines elements of sculpture and photography to address themes of repetition by challenging perceptions through the reconstruction of history.
Kadara Enyeasi
Kadara Enyeasi is a photographer, sculptor and an architect by training. He focuses on fine art, portraiture and photojournalism to observe and explore psychology and human sexuality through the comparisons of Africa versus the West. He works from Lagos and has been exhibited across Nigeria and New York.
Kadara’s photography
Courtesy of A Whitespace Creative Agency
Sam Ebohon
Sam Ebohon has been working for more than a decade and is one of the most recognizable visual contemporary artists working in Nigeria. His vivid colors and composition style make him one of the treasures of Nigerian art. He has been exhibited at home and away.
One of Sam Ebohon’s paintings
Courtesy of Aabru Art
Rom Isichei
The painter is one of Nigeria’s best selling artists due to the scarcity of his signature style of portraiture with the faces segmented. Working for decades now, his vivid brushstrokes are instantly recognizable as are his choice of colors.
Tola Wewe
A frequent collaborator with Nike Davies-Okundaye, Tola Wewe is a star in his own right. The Ondo state indigene was a founding member of the Ona movement in art which draws influence from Yoruba culture, especially the water spirits.
Kindred Spirits, 2014
Courtesy of the Gallery of African Art
