Adegbola Gallery, in collaboration with Fresco Gallery, has opened "Asidere / Duke," a major exhibition showcasing over four decades of work by renowned Nigerian contemporary painter Duke Asidere. The show presents the dual identities that have shaped his artistic journey—the instinctive artist driven by emotion and memory, and the disciplined painter formed through formal training—through works spanning oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, ink, and mixed media. Themes include womanhood, friendship, grief, domestic life, and Nigeria's social realities such as housing shortages, economic uncertainty, and insecurity.
This exhibition matters because it offers a comprehensive reflection on the career of one of Nigeria's most significant contemporary painters, whose work has consistently engaged with the country's social and economic challenges over four decades. By bringing together works that document the intersections of memory, emotion, and social observation, the show highlights how Asidere's art serves as a visual chronicle of Nigerian life, addressing issues like kidnapping, unreliable power supply, and governance concerns. The collaboration between a newly established Lagos gallery and a nomadic gallery also signals evolving dynamics in Nigeria's contemporary art scene.