Some leading master artists, who steered the development of visual art in Nigeria despite the monumental challenges, have been selected for a special exhibition holding between June 3 and 4 at Desiderata, Banana Island, Lagos.
The exhibition tagged: The Masters is being organised by Mydrim Art Gallery as part of activities marking its 25 years’ operation. It will feature 12 of such masters’ paintings and sculptures.
The exhibition will feature masters, such as Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yusuf Grillo, El Anatsui, Abayomi Barbers, Jimoh Buraimoh, David Dale and Nike Davies-Okundaye.
Others are the late Bisi Fakeye, the late Gani Odutokun, Kolade Oshinowo, Muraina Oyelami and Jimoh Akolo.
Few pieces of their works will be exhibited for collectors. The Living Masters exhibition was inaugurated in 2007 by the gallery. This year’s is sponsored by Templars, a Lagos-based law firm.
Curator and owner Mydrim Art Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos, Mrs. Sinmi Adesanya, said the masters deserved to be celebrated because they made sacrifices for the present generation of artists who should know the history of those who paved the way for them.
Adesanya, who spoke at the media parley at Mydrim Gallery in Lagos, noted that the masters are the ones that were available and ready at the time of planning the show, adding that there are lots of masters around.
“So what we are doing is to link up the present generation with those that charted the path for them to follow. And we like to celebrate them before they go,” she said.
According to her, for over 25 years, Mydrim has remained a major player in the Nigerian art industry providing wide range of services including acquisitions, collection management, curatorial services and advisory.
“It has not been easy. Nigeria is a tough place to live and run business. For some masters, there are lots of fake works in circulation. So, we take caution in what to exhibit especially when it concerns masters’ works. Again, for those we are showing, it is a function of who is available,” she added.
Continuing, she said: “Twenty- five years on, we have encouraged other galleries, partnered other galleries to organise auction, succeeded in increasing the awareness of art as well as expanding the size of patrons of the art, we have funded about 70 art exhibitions out of which only two were sponsored. We have also collaborated with ICAL to host lectures across the country. We have also created platform for 250 artists to exhibit. As a gallery, we want to play an active role in the cultivation, appreciation and advancement of modern and contemporary Nigerian art by hosting art exhibitions of budding, established and master artists at the local, national and international levels.”