Photo by Fredrick Nwosu, courtesy of Anthony Akinbola and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York.
Born in Columbia, Missouri, Akinbola, is a first-generation American raised by Nigerian parents in the United States and Nigeria. His layered, richly coloured compositions celebrate and signify the distinct cultures that shape his identity.
The artist’s signature Camouflage paintings, consisting of single and multi-panel works, utilize the ubiquitous du-rag as their primary material. Universally available and possessed with significant cultural context, the du-rag represents for Akinbola a readymade object that engages the conceptual strategies of Marcel Duchamp and other significant artistic predecessors.
Akinbola will also be represented by Night Gallery on the West Coast.