Asiru Olatunde
(1922–1993)Asiru Olatunde was a relief sculptural artist most renowned for his aluminum display panels that depicted satirical blends of Yoruba cultural folklore and biblical parables.
Biography
Olatunde was born to a family of blacksmiths in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, Nigeria. In the late 1950s, he developed a severe illness that prevented him from blacksmithing and led him to explore alternative media.
Olatunde began making copper-plated jewelry in the late 1960s, and later experimented with aluminum as his artistic practice evolved from earrings to brooches to small display panels. His designs became more complex; from initially displaying four-legged animals as isolated subjects to larger scenes featuring humans and animals interacting in nature. After a successful commission of two large panels for a hotel in Lagos, Olatunde fully transitioned his practice into aluminum relief sculpture. His ability to sculpt aluminum distinguished Olatunde from most Yoruba artists in his lifetime, as most Nigerian sculptors worked primarily in wood, stone, iron, and brass. The Tree of Life recurs throughout his work, reflecting his spiritual connection to the groves of the Osun-Osogbo Shrines in Osogbo. In other works, Olatunde incorporates the Garden of Eden to visually reflect symbolic aspects of the Osun groves’ spiritual lore.
Olatunde was an influential member of the Osogbo School, a Nigerian art movement founded in the 1960s. In 1967 he became the first chairman of one of its organizations, the Oshogbo Artists Association. Olatunde's work has been featured in several group exhibitions, including at the National Museum of African Art, the Tate Modern, and the Otis College of Art and Design, among others. At the Studio Museum in Harlem, his work was featured in the exhibitions Mbari Mbayo: Contemporary Art from Osogbo, Nigeria (1970) and Treasures from Harlem: Selections from the Permanent Collections of the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture and the Studio Museum in Harlem (1984). Olatunde's work entered the Studio Museum’s collection in 1980.
Asiru Olatunde
(1922–1993)Asiru Olatunde was a relief sculptural artist most renowned for his aluminum display panels that depicted satirical blends of Yoruba cultural folklore and biblical parables.
God of Smallpox, 1966
Biography
Olatunde was born to a family of blacksmiths in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, Nigeria. In the late 1950s, he developed a severe illness that prevented him from blacksmithing and led him to explore alternative media.
Olatunde began making copper-plated jewelry in the late 1960s, and later experimented with aluminum as his artistic practice evolved from earrings to brooches to small display panels. His designs became more complex; from initially displaying four-legged animals as isolated subjects to larger scenes featuring humans and animals interacting in nature. After a successful commission of two large panels for a hotel in Lagos, Olatunde fully transitioned his practice into aluminum relief sculpture. His ability to sculpt aluminum distinguished Olatunde from most Yoruba artists in his lifetime, as most Nigerian sculptors worked primarily in wood, stone, iron, and brass. The Tree of Life recurs throughout his work, reflecting his spiritual connection to the groves of the Osun-Osogbo Shrines in Osogbo. In other works, Olatunde incorporates the Garden of Eden to visually reflect symbolic aspects of the Osun groves’ spiritual lore.
Olatunde was an influential member of the Osogbo School, a Nigerian art movement founded in the 1960s. In 1967 he became the first chairman of one of its organizations, the Oshogbo Artists Association. Olatunde's work has been featured in several group exhibitions, including at the National Museum of African Art, the Tate Modern, and the Otis College of Art and Design, among others. At the Studio Museum in Harlem, his work was featured in the exhibitions Mbari Mbayo: Contemporary Art from Osogbo, Nigeria (1970) and Treasures from Harlem: Selections from the Permanent Collections of the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture and the Studio Museum in Harlem (1984). Olatunde's work entered the Studio Museum’s collection in 1980.