DADA Galle announce upcoming exhibition Crosscurrents and Affinities, opening Sunday 13 September in Lagos.
Curated by Tony Agbapuonwu, Crosscurrents and Affinities brings together the work of master and emerging Nigerian artists, examining the varied styles, techniques, and philosophies that have shaped the Nigerian art landscape over the years. From figurative paintings embedded with cultural and fantastical narratives to landscapes animated by interior and exterior scenes, and abstract paintings with multilayered colour palettes, the exhibition stages a cross-generational conversation through seven artists. Across their practices exist inherited cosmology and lived precarity, the visible and the invisible, the personal and the political, giving the exhibition its thematic framework.
The pioneering artistic practice of Nigerian modernist Nike Davies-Okundaye is placed in affinity with Kelechi Chinwendu and Chigozie Obi, who collectively employ figurative-narrative storytelling and worldbuilding to explore themes of Nigeria’s culture and mythical tales. The masterly execution and dexterity of Abiodun Olaku’s landscape paintings, which often feature nature and street scenes, are paired with Ayotunde Ojo’s meticulous paintings of domestic scenes and living spaces. Moving beyond the seemingly recognisable, Kainebi Osahenye’s multilayered, large-scale paintings are placed in direct dialogue with Kadara Enyeasi’s conceptual interdisciplinary practice, two artists with an experimental approach to painting and mirroring the human condition.
Crosscurrents and Affinities closes on an Igbo proverb: Ihe kwuru, ihe akwụdebe ya—wherever something stands, something else stands beside it.
Opening Reception
13 September, 2–6 PM
DADA Gallery Lagos
49 Norman Williams Street
Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria
The exhibition will remain on view through 31 October, 2026
