User:Busayo Lawal/sandbox

Busayo Oluwaseun Lawal (born 28 March 1976)is arguably one of Nigerian foremost contemporary visual artist and designer. He has exhibited extensively in major art galleries and institutions in Nigeria and beyond. He was listed in the Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project as one of Nigerian leading post independence generation visual artist. Lawal was honorably listed in the Virtual Museum of Modern Nigerian Art (VMMNA), Pan Atlantic University, Nigeria, His works are documented in Contemporary Nigerian Art in Lagos Private collections (2012) edited by renowned Spanish Architect Jess Castellote. Busayo Lawal's works- Freedom from within (2009) and Freedom Negotiation (2009) Lot 148 featured in the Christie’s auction interiors in July 2011 in Paris. In 2007, Lawal was the runner-up of the African Art Award presented by the African Art Resource Center (AARC) in Lagos and a 2007 finalist at the Italian embassy juried competition and exhibition Imagine Venice with his entry Between David and Idia(2007). His works corroborates the artist role as a custodian of knowledge on topical issues affecting the contemporary human societies. The artist view himself as a thinker and a conscious moral agent with the responsibility to inform, communicate and educate the human mind of global issues affecting evolving human societies. Lawal’s work has continued to evolve and remains relevant to contemporary art developments in Nigeria and beyond. Informed by environmental and societal issues, the artist combines a variety of unconventional techniques and a methodological approach, which begins with dabbing and applying a mixture of oils, lithographic paints, coffee and gum in several layers on his material background. His methods also involve rubbing, scraping and re-laying of pigments in concentric manner to create intricate and interwoven patterns. Alongside his mixed media practice, Lawal has been developing a body of digitally-based work and printed mostly on paper, and hand-embellished with paint—each work is an original. Busayo Lawal has featured within the last one decade in over 20 group exhibitions in Nigeria. His works can be found in several significant collections. He featured in the 50th anniversary juried exhibition of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Next 50 years (July 2014), Artzero group exhibition Thoughts in Lines (August 2014) at the Alliance Francais in Lagos, October Rain (2013) juried exhibition of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Lagos. The artist featured in other high profile exhibitions like Beyond Figuration (2009) in Omenka Gallery in Nigeria by Ben Enwonwu Foundation (BEF), Gaze of Hope (2008) by United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, Hellenic Images and 54 Nigerian Masters in Translation (2007) by Greece embassy in Nigeria, International Convention on Art and Development exhibition in (2010). Lawal's works are documented in National Gallery of Art Nigeria catalogues, exhibition publications and the media. Lawal was educated at the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Federal University of Technology, Akure and Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria.