By Tajudeen Sowole
One of Africa's living
modernist masters, Yusuf Grillo, whose blue strokes have become legendary in
art lexicon, refreshes the Lagos creative space with new canvas, so explains some
of his works that are just few years old.
Grillo, b.1934, is a clear distance from a prolific career just as his presence: personality and work are hardly seen at events, despite being a legend whose career traverses decades in the academia and studio practice. For Grillo to have been dragged out of his studio for a solo exhibition, it took the proverbial strength of Yoruba Igi Araba (special tree), in this context, planted by Arthouse -The Space, a new platform for promoting Nigerian artists. In fact, any art event that focuses Grillo means so much to quite diverse shades of art enthusiasts, given the artist's background as teacher of masters as well as dream collection of many art lovers.
Arthouse- The Space notes the artist's passion for his native Yoruba root from which inspiration is derived for his choice of themes. "Grillo’s work is deeply influenced by the characteristics of traditional Yoruba philosophy and sculpture," the promoters write in a curatorial note.
Yusuf Grillo in his studio. PHOTO: BY MEDINA DUGGER. |
Displaying new works of living masters of
Grillo's generation, as seen in a solo exhibition titled Igi Araba, currently
ongoing till October 31, 2015, at Kia Showroom Victoria Island, Lagos, is a
rare event. Apart from of an
edifice in his honour, which also showed very few of his old works in 2009,
during the opening of Yusuf Grillo Pavilion, in Ikorodu, Lagos - a centre
donated by art patron Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi - the artist's works have not
been exhibited at any solo outing for several decades.
Grillo, b.1934, is a clear distance from a prolific career just as his presence: personality and work are hardly seen at events, despite being a legend whose career traverses decades in the academia and studio practice. For Grillo to have been dragged out of his studio for a solo exhibition, it took the proverbial strength of Yoruba Igi Araba (special tree), in this context, planted by Arthouse -The Space, a new platform for promoting Nigerian artists. In fact, any art event that focuses Grillo means so much to quite diverse shades of art enthusiasts, given the artist's background as teacher of masters as well as dream collection of many art lovers.
Again, the artist's work as a sparsely kind,
which deserves keen attention is being showcased, coherently, in a body of work
that make his legendary night blue strokes glow with some of the
never-before-seen paintings. Also among the new works are stained glass pieces,
rendered in a medium of which Grillo, for several decades, asserts his great
signature. For example, Kabiyesi and Olori (oil on canvas, 2010-2012)
stresses the masterly rendition of Grillo's strokes. As a celebration of
resilient Yoruba cultural value, the painting, which is about royal couple
captures the flowing elegance in the native iro / buba for the queen and
buba/agbada for the king. However, there seems to be a slight
de-emphasis on the artist's cubist identity compared to most of his older
works.
Yusuf Grillo (right), Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Dr Idiat Adebule and Mrs Kavita Chellaram of Arthouse Contemporary during the opening of Igi-Araba...in Lagos, yesterday. |
Arthouse- The Space notes the artist's passion for his native Yoruba root from which inspiration is derived for his choice of themes. "Grillo’s work is deeply influenced by the characteristics of traditional Yoruba philosophy and sculpture," the promoters write in a curatorial note.
In
recent years, the secondary art market has disclosed that connoisseurs are not
exactly perfect in tracking Grillo's periods. Quite a few Grillos sold at auctions in recent years have suddenly revealed red
canvases of the artist, some as old as the 1960s, so suggest many provenances.
The sharp contrast in colour from the blue of which the artist is well known
also resurfaces in Igi Araba with a piece titled Oba Dauda, a triptych-like
painting. With impressionistic texture in red dominance capture of what looks
like the Oba (king) in the foreground, looming over his subjects and two small
compartment of the paintings in mix of blue and green tones, Grillo converges
some of his oeuvre in one piece.
Given the richness of Grillo's stained glass
works produced over the decades for private collection and religious worship
places, which are not appropriately provenance and made more visible to a wider
viewing public, Igi-Araba provides an opportunity, perhaps privilege
too, to see Nigerian modernism at one of its very bests. Stressing that his
brush movement still has control over the sleeking surface of stained glass is Baraje
(2012-2015), a painting that suggests extensive celebration in dancing. Again,
Grillo's technique gets fresher here, particularly with cubes mated on the
surface of the canvas, which radiates optical effect against the paintings.
A Grillo signature in the art market is no
doubt among the most attractive. But for retrospection reason, the old works of
the artist on display in the exhibition are on loans, and not going to attract
the red tags. And that Igi Araba is closing few weeks before the
expected second auction of Arthouse -The Space's parent company, Arthouse
Contemporary, perhaps, offers keen observers of the Nigerian art scene to probe
collectors’ behaviours towards the primary and secondary art markets. With the
pedigree of setting the pace for Nigerian secondary art market, and currently
taking art exhibition to a higher space, the Kavita Chellaram-led Arthouse
family chains might have something up its sleeve, in the November auction,
having shown a master artist shortly before the hammer sales. However, there
are indications that no Grillo work will feature in the next auction. Arthouse
Contemporary, in 2008, sold Blue Moon
for N8 million naira hammer price, giving Grillo what was probably his auction
record as at then.
In a curatorial note to Igi Araba, Arthouse-The Space traces Grillo's blue identity to
"a reference to adire and
resist-dye textiles used in Nigeria."
Art historians would hardly leave out Grillo
at crucial point of Nigerian art trajectory. His work was featured in the
historic exhibition of 2006, Living
Masters organised by Mydrim Gallery, at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island,
Lagos. The exhibition showed the works of Onobrakpeya, Isiaka Osunde, El
Anatsui, Muraina Oyelami, Bisi Fakeye, David Dale and Kolade Oshinowo. Also,
in the month that Grillo was 74, the team of Olu Ajayi-led Living Legend had
the master as a sitter for the portrait documentary project. Under
the supervision of another creative luminary and architect, Prof. David
Aradeon, the artists that captured Grillo across medium included Ajayi, Sam
Ovraiti, Odun Orimolade, Tom Agose, Wallace Ejoh, Osazuwa Osagie, Kelechi
Amadi-Obi, Ibe Ananaba, Kingsley Braimoh, Joshua Nmesirionye, Awoyemi Ajibade
and Edward Samuel.Kabiyesi and Olori by Grillo. PHOTO BY GEORGE OSODI. |
As an art educationist, Grillo was Head of
the Department at School of Art, Printing and Design, Yaba College of
Technology (Yabatech), Lagos. Among his works in public spaces are mosaic,
frieze and stained glass.
Grillo, a founding president of the Society
of Nigerian Artists (SNA) in the 1960s, trained quite a number of fourth
generation Nigerian masters such as Abiodun Olaku, Bunmi Babatunde, Edosa
Ogiugo, olusegun Adejumo, among others.
Sponsored by Access Bank, Kia Motors and
Veuve Clicquot, Igi Araba also features
a video documentary produced by the Foundation for Contemporary & Modern
Visual Arts. Arthouse Contemporary is an international auction house that
focuses on modern and contemporary art from West Africa. With auctions held
twice a year in Lagos, Nigeria.
Since
inception two years ago, Arthouse-The Space, has organised solo exhibitions for
Bruce Onobrakpeya, George Osodi, Emeka Udemba and Eva Obodo. Last year, the new
platform showed Victor Ekpuk, Victoria Udondian, Kainebi Osahenye, and Sokari
Douglas Camp as R-evolution, the Arthouse
stands during a global art fair, Art14,
at Olympia Grand, in London, U.K.
This year, a Nsukka-based artist, Eva Obodo's
new body of work titled Line by Line, was shown at Renault
Showroom, still under Arthouse-The Space.
The Renault Showroom as an alternative art space for Arthouse started with a
photography show TransgreXion by George Osodi in 2014 and followed with Emeka
Udemba's Tools of Conflicts in March.
Art on chessboard with Tunde Onakoya, Lanre Olagoke
Onyeka Onwenu's last major honour in Art of Afrobeats award
Soyinka at 90...revisiting Maya Angelou, superlatives of Nobel Prize
Separating Yoruba religious tradition from Isese (2)
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