Babalola Lawson

Babalola Lawson hails from Ekiti State Nigeria. He has no formal education as an artist but draws his imagery from Yoruba two-dimensional decorative patterns. He worked as an apprentice with renowned names to sharpen his skill. Lawson is a full-time studio artist who lives in Lagos.

Babalola is a “natural painter”. He has a knack for the use of line, pattern and colour. He is a good artist-craftsman, unconcerned with contemporary preoccupations about meaning, identity or relevance, but producing works of standard and acceptable quality.

Babalola Lawson works within the boundaries of a tradition. He is a contemporary traditional artist, but like all good traditional artists in the Yoruba tradition, his individuality is kept alive by his sensitive departures from shared visual norms. He uses patterns, symbols and motives taken from calabash decorations, textiles, embroidery, pottery and traditional carvings and integrates them into compositions that go beyond the two-dimensionality of Yoruba tradition.

His dexterous use of line, pattern, ink colour, decorative motifs and drawing, evoke a folkloric imagery that produces pictures of the present time. He has participated in several exhibitions and won several awards over the years.