RHYTHMS OF THE SOUL EXHIBITION

Artist’s Statement

This new body of work represents my direct response to creative urges,
inspired by sounds and movements. I attempt to explore the powerful
elements in performing arts, hoping to create a visual poetry imbued with
the visual elements of space, color and texture. The need to capture the
essence of the spiritual celebration of life in various dance forms,
creative movements, and energetic sounds influenced the direction of this
current work. In other words, my experimentation with movements and
sounds has given birth to a visual celebration of human spirits and souls
beyond the physical realm.

My excitement and fervor to capture the vitality and spontaneity of movement has
prompted me to engage in the process of freely expressing my subjective interpretation of performing art forms. The seemingly dominant element of
color becomes an available template for me to facilitate the nuances of
the visual poetry.
My intent is to take the viewer to a certain domain where they can see the sounds and feel the movements through my work. If people can just hear the music and feel the rhythms of the movements, my work is done.
SWEET RHYTHMS Acrylcs on Canvas 2009

IT'S COOKING Acrylics on Canvas 2009


BALLERINA #3 Acrylics on Canvas 2009

About The Artist

Tunde Afolayan Nigerian-born, North Carolina resident artist continues to make a significant impact through his paintings, and mixed-media expressions. He is a graduate of the prestigious Yaba College of Technology 'Yaba School' Lagos-Nigeria and University of Missouri-Columbia; MO.

Exploring color as the basis of painting, Tunde infuses spiritualism and symbolism in his powerful lyrical expressions. His thematic compositions captured in vibrant colors allow figurative images to adopt expressive, abstract qualities as well as representational styles. Tunde’s spontaneous, energetic gestures created splashes, strokes, and heavily layered areas that reveal the confident control of his painting media for clarity of expressions. His color pallet tempered with strong and vibrant hues exemplifies his powerful traditional African roots and aesthetics.

Tunde’s paintings are held in private and corporate collections throughout the world. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums in Nigeria, Europe and United States.