Bayo Iribhogbe Fine Artist Portfolio

Bayo Iribhogbe -- Fine Art

Artist Profile

Bayo Iribhogbe is a Fine Artist.

Bayo Iribhogbe, was born and educated as an artist in Edo State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Today, he has developed his paintings about people en masse, saturated with colors and emotions.

Edo, in the Western world, is known as Benin. The people are for centuries, world famous for their cult art. Benin bronze pieces have been museum and collector items for years.

Bayo grew up in that environment; but until he was 12, he did not realize the importance of his creative tendency. His formal education was roughly saturated with tribal and colonial disciplines.

He says one of his brightest moments was at the elementary school level when he "used to illustrate on the board for my class teachers".

He studied at home successfully for a college degree equivalency (GCE). With that paper in hand and continued work in art studies he "was accepted at Ahmadu Bello University at Zaria". Explains the man whose talent for art began to develop "very rapidly".

After getting his first degree, his personal interest for continued growth in Nigeria appeared elusive. The country was already in internal crisis. By "stroke of luck", he came to the US where he began to gain stability externally.

"Day by day the artist in me was growing but not coming out. Up 'til about 1991, my works were few and far between but somehow I was laying a foundation for my future themes" Bayo says.

"Always accompanied with my native music, I paint about us, from our weaknesses to our fortitudes and vice versa". He says he feels the same spirit that drives us into what we go through everday. "Every piece I produce has that human touch that keeps the viewer engaged (The more you look, the more you see.)"

Today, he says, he does not need to draw or sketch to establish an idea; "I could literally see images dangling before my eyes. When my emotions are expressed that way, I feel a fresh shower of relief."

"I am a colourcentric painter. I respond to my mood naturally. While complimenting my thought process with background music, I could start with any colour hue and go from there" He remarks of his works.

The palette knife has become an indispensable tool in his repertoire. He goes on to say; "I could mash with it, press with it, trace with it, pin with it, cut with it, wedge with it, slice with it and embellish with it to satisfy my creative instinct.

"To a large extent, the palette knife enhances may ability to apply colour with such spontaneity and honesty. So the viewer is drawn into my work by the way I juxtapose colors and subconsciously create angles for various interpretations. That is made possible because what I am expressing is humanistic, personal and spontaneous. He observes.

For now, "I am sticking with the artist in me and, hopefully, the world will appreciate me for the difference" Says Bayo.

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