Wole Lagunju's multifaceted practice spans oil, acrylic, and ink washes and ranges from haunting, pared-down ink portraits to renderings of Black figures in colorful, patterned attire set against lush, psychedelic backdrops. The Nigerian-born artist belongs to his country's Onanism movement, which reimagines Yoruba tradition in art and design: Lagunju paints Gelede masks and Adire fabric as he considers the effects of globalization and postcolonial hierarchies. Lagunju has exhibited in Lagos, Cape Town, London, and Washington, D.C., among other cities. His work belongs to numerous collections, including the Leridon Collection and the Fondation d'entreprise Francès. By combining Western and Nigerian forms, Lagunju's work comments on the divide between historical and canonical representations of African people.
Read our interview with Wole Lagunju for The Debrief here