Rebecca
Ejifoma
As a seasoned contemporary artist,
known for his
abstract works and use of colours in the Art Scene with national and
international exhibitions to his credit, one can easily enthuse that Gbenga
Orimoloye has paid his dues and carved a niche for himself. Hence, his just
concluded solo art exhibition, which ran from May 24 to 30 at the Terra Kulture
Gallery in Victoria Island Lagos, brought about great art connoisseurs and art
students from across the country.
 | |
| Aso by Orimoloye |
The exhibition, titled, “Aso”, featured his 31
artistic pieces of paintings on canvas. According to the artist at the opening,
he deliberate opted for a Yoruba word as his theme, because he liked the way
the same word resounds many other meaning depending on how one uses it.
Orimoloye exuded the colourful and fascinating
lifestyle of the Nigerian women, who dress up sprucely on uniform to occasions,
home and abroad. His inspiration, he said, came from the Nigerian women he saw
in a London programme, dressed in Aso ebi;
all looking very glamorous, having titivated themselves with their makeup beads
and igele.
“When I first came into contact with Orimoloye over 30
years ago in Ikoyi Lagos, neither of us knew I would one day be a great admirer
of his talent and works, the Honourable Consul of Switzerland, Mrs. Marlies
Allan, expounded, “he has a tenacious and audacious spirit. His commitment to
his goal and dedication to his craft comes across when you encounter the
quality of his works. His masterpieces exhibit his style, with vast amount of
paint about wasteful at times.”
Known as a colourist in nature, the artist gathered
works including “The Family” (123 X 82cm), “Aso” (123 X 82cm), “Elaja”, “Aso
2”, “the Family 1”, “Aso” – Rhapsodies in yellow, “Untitled” (122 X 61),
“Contentment”, “Rhapsodies in Orange”, “Aso”− Rhapsodies in brown, “Boat boy
with Blue and White Paddle” (82 X 62cm), “Aso” – Rhapsodies in colour, “The
Trip”(82 X 62cm), “African Women at Work”, “Late Morning”, “Elegantly Dressed”,
“Badagry Beach”, “A Quiet Place” (81 X 62cm), “Figure on a Red Background”, and
“Untitled” (80 X 60) among others.
Although his works’ titles seem almost all one, his
style – values, tradition and painting with many mixed colours is distinct and
unique. It all encompasses his quest to pass his message of “Contentment”
(polite enditement) that one needs to be contented with what one has. Viewers
were impressed and right at the opening bought several works to his amazement.
According to him, these days, he deliberately begins
many of his works without a preliminary sketch, because he is keen to leave
some things to time – chance and the Spirit that creates. “As such, many of my
compositions, including and especially the ‘Aso’ are the results of as much
spontaneity as possible. Many of which bear my fingerprint.”
His recent solo exhibition at the Saffron Walden
Gallery, United Kingdom in March 2014 depicted the rich culture of the people
and ‘the inherent transient nature of the people alongside realities, which can
stand as the allegories of life. His love and appreciation for mankind has
paved his canvas, one of which is Aso.
However,
from his visual streamline on Aso, Orimoloye pictures
the identity of the Nigerian woman dressed in her gele and buba with all
kinds of accessories to match. However his message of contentment he adores the
elegance of the Nigerian women as he finds them glamorous and becoming.
In order to satiate his audience, Orimoloye, described
as an artist who knows his onions, explained that this is like an encomium to
the Nigerian woman, for her ever-green beauty and packaging. “In this harvest
of work which I have titled, “Aso”, I look figuratively at our obsession with
elaborate festive dressing.
Aso, Yoruba word for cloth, is also used colloquially
as regards groups of people dressed in identical fabric and or colour,
especially seen at a typical Nigerian wedding. As an artist, whose artist’s
instincts tell him this is where he ought to be and the first fan of his own
works, he says he is fascinated with the dressing, colours, textures and styles
at many of these events.
“A great deal goes into our dressing and into
selection our Aso. I believe that if we could be as fervent and enthusiastic in
many areas of our existence as we are with our dressing, our collective
attitude will adorn us with majesty and excellence; we will be arrayed with
glory and splendour,” he enthused.
Meanwhile, the artist had featured in 21 group and
solo exhibitions including “Oju” and “Ona” at the Terra Kulture in 2013, “A
Parent’s Eye View” at the Parabola Art Centre in England in 2012, “Africa at
Whiteley’s” at the Atrium, Whiteley’s, London UK and the Exhibition of
“Sculpture and Paintings” at Master Craft in Surulere Lagos in 1990.
Orimoloye, who bagged his HND and MSc from the Yaba
College of Technology in Painting (1991) and from the University of
Westminster, London (2003), is as well contented and dedicated to his craft as
his full-time job.
An artist, who tries to produce whatever he lays his
hands on, says ones talent alone is not enough; hence, one needs to work very
hard. “I try to work very hard to unleash what is within,” he says. While art
collectors like Ejiro Onobrakpeye, son of reputable Bruce Onobrakpeye and
others lauded his works, they went round for a gaze at his works hung on the
walls of Terra Kulture.
