Curved lines and bold blocks of orange, yellow, and blue come together to form the image of an artist, framed by abstract shapes. Upon closer inspection, the artist’s beret, adorned with concentric circles, rests atop their head as they lean over their work.
This vibrant painting is the work of Nigerian artist Uzo Egonu, part of his 1981 series Stateless People. Egonu, who moved to Britain in the 1940s, spent most of his career there until his death in 1996. His art expressed the emotional complexities of migration and a longing for his homeland, exploring themes of statelessness and displacement.
While names like Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Salvador Dalí may come to mind when thinking of modern art, a groundbreaking new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern highlights the vital contributions of Nigerian artists to the movement. Egonu is one of over 50 artists featured in Nigerian Modernism, the first show at the museum to chart the evolution of modern art from Nigeria. The exhibition spans more than 250 works created from the 1940s, during British colonial rule, through to the country’s independence in 1960 and the postcolonial period of the 1970s and 1980s.
“While modernism is often associated with European art history, there were in fact multiple contexts in which the language of modern art developed and evolved,” said Osei Bonsu, curator of International Art at the Tate Modern.
Nigeria played a pivotal role in the development of modern African art, influenced in part by its colonial ties with Britain. Many of the artists showcased in the exhibition trained in London or other European cities before returning to Nigeria, where they fused European techniques with indigenous African forms. As Nigeria gained independence from British colonial rule, artists grappled with how new ideas of nationhood, identity, and art could take shape in the post-colonial era.
While some traditional techniques, like uli—a design practice native to the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria, where women painted their bodies or created murals—might not have been considered modernist at the time, they embodied key modernist principles such as improvisation and the balance of positive and negative space, Bonsu explained.
A pioneer of Nigerian modernism is sculptor and painter Ben Enwonwu, who is credited with merging traditional African techniques with Western art principles. “His works were the cultural foundation of our upbringing,” said Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, professor of History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist. “Enwonwu made it possible to view the arts as a respectable profession. As an African artist, he was the first to achieve global recognition and prestige.”
Born in 1917 into an elite family in Onitsha, southeastern Nigeria, Enwonwu won a scholarship to study at the Slade School of Art in London. Critics of the time placed him on par with, if not above, European modernist masters. Renowned British sculptor Henry Moore even regarded Enwonwu as a protégé, purchasing one of his early works.
Yet, there is a broader awareness that African artists of this era have often been overlooked when compared to their Western counterparts.
As Helene Love-Allotey, head of Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, observes: “Artists from Africa, especially those from this period, have perhaps been sidelined.”
In 1957, Enwonwu received a prestigious commission to sculpt a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, further enhancing his global reputation. This commission solidified his prominence in both the British colonies and newly independent African nations. However, Enwonwu didn’t solely adhere to classical art traditions—he also seamlessly merged his Igbo heritage with his training. He employed traditional sculpting techniques passed down from his father and frequently depicted Igbo masquerade culture in his paintings—rituals that involve masks, costumes, and performances channeling ancestral spirits.
“He made African cultural themes central to his work,” said art historian Ogbechie. “Enwonwu firmly believed that if Monet could be celebrated for painting church facades, hay bales, and water lilies, there was no reason why his own paintings of masquerades and African market scenes couldn’t be seen in the same light.”
Another artist gaining increasing recognition internationally is the potter and ceramicist Ladi Kwali, whose portrait graces the 20 Nigerian naira note. Born in the Gwari region of northern Nigeria, Kwali became the first female trainee at the Pottery Training Centre in Abuja in 1954. She is celebrated for combining her formal training in modern ceramics with influences from traditional Gwari techniques.
“I’ve always been fascinated by her approach to craftsmanship. What stands out is how she remained true to her own identity and preserved a distinct style of working,” said Helene Love-Allotey, head of the Modern and Contemporary African Art department at Bonhams, a private auction house in London. Love-Allotey pointed to the Gwari traditions that shaped Kwali’s work, such as the handcoiling techniques taught by her aunts, as well as the recurring motifs of lizards and fish, which often appear on her bowls and water vessels. These elements reflect the seamless fusion of tradition and modernity in Kwali’s ceramics.
Kwali is currently a central figure in the exhibition Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics & Contemporary Art, which is on display at the Ford Foundation Gallery in New York. Earlier this year, the Centre Pompidou in Paris also highlighted the impact of African artists in their summer exhibition, Paris Noir: Artistic Circulations and Anti-Colonial Resistance, 1950–2000. This show delved into the significant role African artists played in the Modernist movement.
Beyond institutional recognition, African modern and contemporary artists have seen a surge in commercial interest. In 2023, works by Kwali and her fellow ceramicists from the Abuja Pottery Training Centre broke sales records at Bonhams. In 2018, Enwonwu’s iconic painting Tutu sold for an impressive $1.67 million. This week, another auction of Nigerian modernist art will feature works by both Enwonwu and Egonu. Helene Love-Allotey, who has closely followed this evolution, notes, “There is a wider recognition that African artists from this era have often been overlooked in comparison to their Western peers.” Love-Allotey also manages the Instagram account African Art History, which highlights these important artists.
This growing interest from both private collectors and public institutions builds on years of scholarship by academics like Ogbechie. Curator Bonsu hopes that this renewed attention, alongside exhibitions like these, will inspire audiences to question and reflect on their own cultural heritage. “African stories are often sidelined in world history narratives,” he says. “This is an opportunity to recognize the immense contributions African artists have made—not only to art history but also to society at large.”
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