Tunji Adeniyi-Jones creates vibrant, dynamic paintings that draw on his Yoruba heritage and West African aesthetics to explore themes of identity, mythology and cultural hybridity. Born in the UK and now based in New York, Adeniyi-Jones situates his work at the intersection of ancestral traditions and contemporary diasporic experiences. His figures, rendered in luminous hues and flowing lines, are both abstract and corporeal, embodying the ritualised gestures and symbolic narratives of West African history.
Set against lush, stylised backdrops of interlocking foliage, his compositions evoke the rhythmic patterns of dance and movement, transcending linguistic boundaries to communicate through the body. Influenced by modernist abstraction, Matisse and the rich heritage of Nigerian art, Adeniyi-Jones incorporates motifs like ritual masks, scarification lines and Dutch wax fabrics, blending cultural references and personal expression.
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones (b. 1992, London, UK; lives and works in Brooklyn, USA) received a BA in Fine Art from The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University (2014) and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale School of Art (2017). Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Deep Dive’, White Cube, Hong Kong (2023); ‘Spotlight’, FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2023); ‘Tranquil Dive’, Morán Morán, Mexico City (2023); ‘Emergent Properties’, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2022); ‘Voix Intérieures’, White Cube, Paris (2022); ‘Astral Reflections’, Charleston, East Sussex (2021); ‘That Which Binds Us’, White Cube, Bermondsey, London (2021); ‘Melodic Virtues’, Morán Morán, Los Angeles (2021); 39 Great Jones Street, New York (2020); ‘Patterns and Rituals’, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2020); ‘Dreams Through Seasons: New Paintings’, The Cabin, Los Angeles (2018); and ‘Flash of the Spirit’, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2017).