ARTSPLIT is delighted to present three classic pieces from Rufus Ogundele's illustrious oeuvre in the March Edition of its Monthly Auctions, titled “Splits of Colours”.

The pieces highlight the simplification of colour and form and reveal an individualistic aesthetic that celebrates the traditional Yoruba family, festivals and other cultural activities. His figural forms, depicted with flat areas of colour bounded by thick black lines, are reminiscent of elements found in German expressionism. In applying the principles of European Modernism to traditional themes and motifs, Ogundele joins the company of prominent African artists whose art embodies the progressive accommodation of modernism in contemporary art on the one hand—and on the other, deliberate and rational engagement in the preservation of African tradition.