Jacob Afolabi

JACOB AFOLABI (Nigeria, 1940).
S/t, 1999.
Painting on Batik tribal cloth.
Signed and dated in the lower middle area.
Provenance: private collection France / acquired directly from the artist by the gallery owner and art dealer Kab Amadani.
Measurements: 120 x 32 cm.
Jacob Afolabi was a member of Duro Ladipo's theatrical troupe in the 1960s, later overseeing the Mbari Mbayo Club gallery. Afolabi, the eldest of the artists in Oshogbo's workshop, and later trained at Denis Williams' workshop, where he finished in 1962 as the most outstanding pupil. He continued to develop as an artist, attending Georgina Beier's workshops from 1963. Today he works at the Museum of the Institute of African Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Oshogbo.
Afolabi's prints evince a bold and dynamic style with an extraordinary command of line. Whether the subjects of his works are drawn from traditional African life or Christianity, Afolabi controls the growth and rhythm of his lines to create fluid, organic compositions in which figures are grouped as a unit and stand out as individual elements.