Gani Odutokun

The late Gani Odutokun was one of Nigeria's most influential painters in the 20th century. He studied at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (one of Nigeria's elite art schools) and was an excellent draughtsman. Gani Odutokun was known for his bold, painterly brushstrokes and rich use of colour. The late artist was until his death influenced by his environment while making strong commentaries on sociopolitical issues of the time and was a pioneer of Modern African Art.

I found out about Gani Odutokun when I was in the offices of Omenka magazine (there's a post coming on them soon). I've been doing as much reading up as I can on him, and it's been pretty fascinating. Gani was always interested in Architecture in Art and was an experimentalist in his works.

The last painting is a tribute to a classical western art piece and is "Dialogue with Mona Lisa". It's stirring, moving and tells me about the artist's need to understand Western art and it's influence on Nigerian art. Traditionally, our Nigerian art has been reluctant to accept anything that is seen as outside influence. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and I usually support this, but sometimes we exclude to the point where we stagnate ourselves.

Gani Odutokun's legacy will always be here with us and should be shown as an example of a fusion that can occur seamlessly.
His works can be seen at Museums and galleries around the world.