Ebenezer Akinola (b.1968) is one of the finest painters working in Nigeria today. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in painting from the University of Benin (1989). Here, he received a scholarship for the best student in painting at 300 level (1988); departmental prize for the best student in fine art; and the Fasuyi Art Prize for the best student in painting (1989).
Akinola works broadly in two representational modes; a better known calm academic style comprising of portraits and figure studies, and a radically divergent more expressive one.
In the former mode, he skillfully achieves a balance of realistic and abstract passages in his paintings, adding further depth with a combination of broad sweeping strokes in the background and smaller, finer details to highlight areas of interest. Recently, he has turned to covering up the faces of his sitters in solid black that emphasises his celebration of black identity with the hues symbolising strength, boldness and elegance.
Characterised by a deliberate exaggeration of the limbs and torsos of his figures to achieve rhythm and fluidity, Akinola’s latter convention tends towards abstraction. It is also hinged largely on the artist’s affinity with rich and varied surface textures, as well as bold lines to accentuate form and create mood and feeling. In these canvases, Akinola’s highly individual expression comes to the fore as he sacrifices finished form and detail.