Afrikanizm Art| Nathaniel Bolarinwa – Nigerian Artist Exploring

"Bolarinwa’s paintings feature figures interwoven with elements of tree bark, branches, and leaves - a poetic expression of the deep connection between human and plant life. For the artist, both are living beings that breathe, move, reproduce, exist in singular beauty, and ultimately return to the earth.

His work embodies a form of botanical surrealism, brought to life through his distinctive use of texture, vivid colour, and the contemplative, wide eyes that define his portraiture."

MEET

Nathaniel Bolarinwa

Nathaniel Bolarinwa is a contemporary Nigerian painter whose evocative practice delves into the metaphysical realms of reincarnation, the afterlife, and spiritual rebirth. Known for merging human anatomy with botanical elements, his work creates a quiet, haunting visual poetry that touches on mortality, memory, and transformation.

A graduate with a National Diploma in Art, Bolarinwa honed his skills at Universal Studios of Art, where he developed a distinctive sensitivity to form, texture, and materiality. His paintings are characterised by their layered surfaces, often incorporating earthy tones and subtle figurative abstractions that evoke both the physical and the transcendental.

Bolarinwa’s work has garnered international attention, with solo exhibitions at Breach Gallery in Miami and Cohle Gallery in Paris. These shows have positioned him as an emerging voice in global contemporary art, offering a deeply personal yet universal meditation on life, death, and spiritual continuity.

With each canvas, Nathaniel Bolarinwa invites the viewer into a liminal space — one where the human and the vegetal, the seen and the unseen, dissolve into a quiet form of visual resurrection.

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