By Chukwuma Ajakah

In collaboration with Kunle Adeyemi Art Studio, KAS, Irachy Consult Ltd, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos is organizing a two-week multi-dimensional visual research art exhibition, featuring the works of a phenomenal art connoisseur, Dr. Kunle Adeyemi.

Until his recent retirement from the academia, after over four decades of nurturing artists, Kunle Adeyemi, PhD, a former Dean of the School of Art, Design, and Printing, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos had distinguished himself in the art world as a master artist, educator, and avid studio visual art practitioner with over 120 group and 26 solo exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. The unrelenting artist is stepping out again with a series of exhibitions titled, “Resounding Echoes: Memories, Retrospect and Vision” less than two weeks into his retirement from the prestigious college.

In a Press Conference held last Tuesday, September 3, 2024 at the Ikeja office of the curatorial service provider, Irachy Consult, the Chairman, Dr. Bukola Bello Jaiyesimi, revealed that the art show would begin with an Exhibition Preview scheduled for 12: 00 noon, September 7, 2024, and open daily thereafter for public viewing from Sunday, 8- 19 September, 2024 at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos.

Dr. Jaiyesimi, a passionate art collector and promoter, noted in her curatorial statement that the exhibition would explore and expose the tension between tradition and innovation, capturing the pulse of the modern world through diverse mediums of contemporary art as each piece would challenge the viewer to question societal norms and envision a future where art would be a dialogue, a catalyst for change. “Dr. Kunle Adeyemi has had much experience in solo and collaborative exhibitions, his most recent exhibition took place in Sweden in the month of June, 2024,” she said, adding that “Resounding Echoes is aimed at bringing memories, retrospect, and vision.”

While speaking on his works and the research exhibition, Dr. Adeyemi reminisced: “Precisely 45 years ago, I was one  of the many prospective students-in-waiting, gathered at the famous Fine Art Department, Yaba College of Technology under the watchful eyes and stewardship of the icon, Professor Yusuf Grillo. This was after I had finished a diploma programme in Printing Technology at the School of Printing and Graphic Arts, Yaba. I knew I was in vocational transit camp as the scent of visual arts continually perceived by me became substantially irresistible.

“When I came in here and saw arts on display, I felt at home. From this cozy atmosphere you can see that it is going to be a different experience from the ones I had actually done before. You might wonder, why is Kunle not using the usual gallery? You know why I am doing that now. In most of my exhibitions, particularly the solo exhibitions, it has always been applauds. This time around, I am actually showing something very different from the usual.        

“I researched into the use of old traditional forms, motifs, and identify the challenges, encountered in the visual art practices in Nigeria and seemingly proffered solutions to them.” He remarked that “Paintocast and Paintograph techniques are symbolic and representative. A painting idea takes off from sketches, studies, and compositions from a technical stage of printmaking and painting to the first final product of Paintograph. It can progress further through metal foil or cast reproduction to form the ground for a sculptural art called Paintocast.

“Over the years, I have realized the necessity of creating conceptualized and stylized works of art by advancing a new consciousness, among the upcoming artists for greater exploration of the artistic styles and ideas. I am a storyteller from a Yoruba royal family. We have a complete civilized setting and telling stories the traditional way as in eulogizing the king is part of that culture. I have, in my art,  ‘exhumed’ the erstwhile ubiquitous Yoruba motifs, signs, and patterns, symbols, and translated the human figure, an ideal state of African aesthetic value of  traditional practices into a conception of modern Africanism.”

Jaiyesimi pledges the organization’s unalloyed commitment to promoting arts and culture, saying: “We want to showcase this veteran to the world. He has been on many journeys, but there is always one journey that is remarkable to every human among many journeys. We want to make this journey with him the one that would outlive the rest. You will see in the course of time how we will do it by the help of God. We also have the creative economy in mind because it has been embraced all over the world. The world tends towards the creative economy now, it is more like the new gold; new oil. We have a lot in Africa that we are transporting out. Africa has so much to teach the world.  There is a lot to learn from us and the creative industry seems to be the way. Also, we love to celebrate legacies and this is a legacy that we want to celebrate while he is still with us.

The art connoisseur is showcasing artworks of diverse sizes with metal foil as a main medium. The dominant thematic preoccupation of Resounding Echoes: Memories, Retrospect, and Vision includes cultural heritage, embedded in titles such as Orimi Pe (My Head is Correct) in which the iconic artist explores the traditional “adire” fabric-the print, women use to tell their stories in wearable arts and designs. Resounding Echoes is connecting the past, the present, and the future through the artwork of Dr. Adeyemi who has put in a lot of work in diverse spheres of art over the years.

Speaking on the vital role art plays in boosting the national economy, the consummate artist, said: “Visual art is a global language. What is art here is art in US, UK or anywhere in the world. Art revolves around issues of identity, documenting the facts that people have about their history. Unfortunately, many of our people now use cosmetics imported from China and other countries instead of the indigenous ones that project our culture. Paris is fine today as the centre of Europe because they celebrate the culture of their art. Visual art generates huge revenue, attracts foreign exchange, creates employment opportunities, and artists do things that bring in money.”

“This is the time to celebrate legacies, the 1.0 is holding in Lagos at the National Museum, 2.0 will hold in Abuja, and 3.0 would be hosted in London in 2025,” Jaiyesimi intones, “The exhibition is a celebration of Kunle Adeyemi’s singular vision, each work stands as a testament to the exploration of “Resounding Echoes”. Through bold experimentation and a distinct aesthetic, the artist invites us into a world that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.”