Artist Database

During his teens, Rufus Ogundele was a musician and actor in his uncle, Duro Ladipo’s theatre troupe. Owing to his involvement in the Mbari Mbayo Club in Oshogbo, Nigeria, which his uncle co-founded, he took part in a seminal 1963 art workshop facilitated by the Guyanese artist Denis Williams and organised by German scholar and British artist, Ulli and Georgina Beier.

Ogundele’s talent stood out, and he was quickly taken under Georgina Beier's wing. With Beier’s guidance, he developed his printmaking skills and cultivated a unique style that blended European technique with Yoruba spiritual and cultural motifs. Stylistically, Ogundele’s work is distinguished by his vibrant colour palette, pronounced outlines and geometric forms.

As one of the pioneers of the Oshogbo Art Movement, Ogundele’s work has been shown in exhibitions at leading institutions including the Camden Art Centre and Tate Modern in London, the National Museum of African Art in Washington and Lagos-based Kó Art Space and Affinity Gallery.