Ayobola Kekere-Ekun (b. 1993) is a contemporary visual artist. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Her B.A. and M.A. in Visual Arts were received from the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, where she majored in Graphic Design. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Art and Design at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Kekere-Ekun works predominantly with a technique known as quilling, in which strips of paper are individually shaped to create forms. Her work is heavily informed by personal experiences and observations. She is particularly interested in subjects connected to gender, mythology, memory, and trauma.
Kekere-Ekun’s work has been exhibited in several fairs and exhibitions all over the world, including Latitudes Art Fair Johannesburg (2024), Arte Fiera, Bologna (2023), and SCOPE Miami Beach (2021). Her first solo exhibition in 2019, “Resilient Lines” at Rele Gallery, was supported by a grant awarded by the Dean Collection, a contemporary art collection created by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean). Kekere-Ekun was also a recipient of the ABSA L’Atelier Award in 2021.
Selected Exhibitions
October 2024, Global Muses (OVR) – Vortic Art
October 2024, Unveiling Perspectives – C + N Canepaneri, Genoa
September 2024, A Closer Look – 70 Square Meters, Shanghai
July 2024, Her Alchemy – House of Fine Art (HOFA), London
May 2024, Messages from Contemporary Africa – Japan-Africa Contemporary Art Association (JACAA), Yokohama
March 2024, Decade – Guns and Rain, Johannesburg
November 2023, The Sound of Our Souls – UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles
November 2023, Another Life (solo) – C + N Canepaneri, Milan
August 2023, A Field of Dreams – BKhz Galley, Johannesburg
August 2023, The Power of Play and Borderline Battles (solo) – ADA Contemporary Art Gallery, Accra
November 2022, Refuge: An Uncommon Home – ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg
November 2022, Poetics of Material – Rele Gallery, Los Angeles
October 2022, Perspectives – Thinkspace Projects, Los Angeles
June 2022, Unity – Volery Gallery, Dubai
January 2022, Hand Land – C + N Canepaneri, Milan
November 2021, Hidden Message – Gallery Func, Shanghai
October 2021, LAX/ORD III: Growing the Focus – Vertical Gallery, Chicago
August 2021, The Invincible Hands – Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos
July 2021, Mother of Mankind – ADA Contemporary Art Gallery, Accra x House of Fine Art (HOFA), London
June 2021, She and I (solo OVR) – UNIT, London
May 2021, Get a Load of This! – Daniel Raphael Gallery, London
October 2020, High Stakes (solo) – Guns and Rain, Johannesburg
January 2020, Young Contemporaries Alumni – National Museum, Lagos
October 2019, Making Matter: Materiality and Technology in Nigerian Art – Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Lagos
July 2019, Suffrage – Guns and Rain, Johannesburg
May 2019, Imagine the Opposite – No End Contemporary, Johannesburg
April 2019, Resilient Lines (solo) – Rele Gallery, Lagos
May 2017, Idanimo – Terrakulture Gallery, Lagos
May 2017, In Honour of Professor Bolanle Awe – Museum of the Institute of Africa Studies University of Ibadan, Ibadan
February 2017, Her Story – Rele Gallery, Lagos
November 2016, Dysmorphia & Other Thoughts – Ake Arts and Book Festival, Abeokuta
January 2016, Young Contemporaries – Rele Gallery, Lagos
Art Fairs & Festivals
November 2024, Art021 – Shanghai
October 2024, Art Toronto – Toronto
May 2024, Latitudes Art Fair – Johannesburg
May 2023, Future Fair – New York
February 2023, Arte Fiera – Bologna
April 2022, Miart – Milan
March 2022, Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) – Oudtshoorn
December 2021, SCOPE Miami Beach – Miami
December 2020, Untitled Art Fair (OVR) – Miami
September 2019, Latitudes Art Fair – Johannesburg
July 2019, Turbine Art Fair – Johannesburg
November 2018, ArtX Lagos – Lagos
Awards
2021 – Absa L’Atelier Award
2018 – The Future Awards 2018 Prize for Creativity
2018 – The Dean Collection 20 St(art)ups Grant
2018 –The South African Research Chair Initiative for Visual Arts Doctoral Scholarship
2016 – Rele Art Foundation “Young Contemporaries” Grant
2014 – University of Lagos, Convocation Prize
2012 – United States Consulate General ‘Women’s History Month’ Art Contest
Selected Press