# Jacob Afolabi

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{{Short description|Nigerian artist and printmaker}}
'''Jacob Afolabi''' (1944–2004) was a leading Nigerian artist and printmaker whose work is recognized as contributing to the post-indepdendence Nigerian Modernism art movement.

== Early life and education ==
Jacob Afolabi was born in Ikirin, Nigeria. He was an actor in the theater troupe led by [Duro Ladipo](/source/Duro_Ladipo). In 1962, Ladipo co-founded the Mbari Mbayo Club in Osogbo with German art critic [Ulli Beier](/source/Ulli_Beier). Afolabi attended the inaugural [Mbari Mbayo](/source/The_Mbari_Club) workshop in 1962 led by Guyanese artist [Denis Williams](/source/Denis_Williams) and subsequent sessions for the next several years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Probst |first=Peter |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Osogbo_and_the_Art_of_Heritage/MLVL1Cz9L8UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jacob+afolabi&pg=PA41&printsec=frontcover |title=Osogbo and the Art of Heritage |date=2011 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-22295-4 |language=en}}</ref> Afolabi's murals were used to decorate the Club's walls.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Charlotte |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Denis_Williams_a_Life_in_Works/RNrtDPkdsugC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jacob+afolabi&pg=PA39&printsec=frontcover |title=Denis Williams, a Life in Works: New and Collected Essays |last2=Williams |first2=Evelyn A. |date=2010 |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=978-90-420-2791-6 |language=en}}</ref> Other notable artists who emerged from these workshops include [Twins Seven-Seven](/source/Twins_Seven_Seven) and [Jimoh Buriamoh](/source/Jimoh_Buraimoh).

According to Beier's assessment of Afolabi's early work, "The characteristics of Afolabi's style are bold, stirking forms and strong colors that are juxtaposed. It is a technique that could easily be reduced to mere poster art. Yet Afolabi's painting--for all its coolness--is sensitive and expressive."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kasfir |first=Sidney Littlefield |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/African_Art_and_Agency_in_the_Workshop/Ae6p_xexEIYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jacob+afolabi&pg=PA169&printsec=frontcover |title=African Art and Agency in the Workshop |last2=Förster |first2=Till |date=2013 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-00741-4 |language=en}}</ref> Another scholar described Afolabi as "one of the most talented artists to come out of the Osogbo workshops."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club |date=2022 |publisher=Yale University Press; in association with The Chrysler Museum, Inc. and the New Orleans Museum of Art |isbn=978-0-300-26317-6 |editor-last=Gant |editor-first=Kimberli |location=New Haven |editor-last2=Ezeluomba |editor-first2=Ndubuisi |editor-last3=Chrysler Museum of Art |editor-last4=New Orleans Museum of Art |editor-last5=Toledo Museum of Art}}</ref>

== Career ==
Subsequently, Afolabi's work were featured in the journal ''[Black Orpheus](/source/Black_Orpheus_(magazine))'' published by the Mbari Club and in exhibits organized by the Club. As a result of his participation in these workshops, Afolabi's work was included in a traveling exhibit of African prints in the US organized by the Smithsonian.<ref>{{Cite book |title=African modernism in America |date=2022 |publisher=American Federation of Arts |isbn=978-1-885444-11-0 |editor-last=Lathrop |editor-first=Perrin M. |location=New York, NY |editor-last2=Fisk University |editor-last3=Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum |editor-last4=Phillips Collection |editor-last5=Taft Museum of Art}}</ref> He served as long-time curator of the Mbari Mbayo arts center. Afolabi helped establish the Ife Design Workshop, Ile-Ife,1972 and illustrated several books including Oxford Books for primary schools in Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stanley |first=Janet L. |title=Nigerian Artists: A Who's Who and Bibliography |publisher=Hans Zell Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=0-905450-82-5}}</ref>

Afolabi later held a position at the Institute of African Studies Museum at [Obafemi Awolowo University](/source/Obafemi_Awolowo_University), Osogbo.

Afolabi's work were featured in international exhibits such as:

* ''Contemporary African Art'' at Camden Arts Centre, London, 1969
* ''Contemporary African Art'' at Museum of African Art, Washington, DC, 1974
* ''Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club'' at [Chrysler Museum of Art](/source/Chrysler_Museum_of_Art), Norfolk, Virginia, 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club |url=https://chrysler.org/exhibition/jacob-lawrence/ |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=Chrysler Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Nigerian Modernism'' at the [Tate](/source/Tate), London, 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tate |title=Nigerian Modernism {{!}} Tate Modern |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/nigerian-modernism |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=Tate |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Afolabi, Jacob}}
Category:1944 births
Category:2004 deaths
Category:20th-century Nigerian painters
Category:Nigerian printmakers
Category:Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University
Category:20th-century Nigerian male actors
Category:Nigerian male stage actors

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jacob Afolabi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Afolabi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Afolabi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.