Blockpasto exhibition opens at Mbari Uno Design Hub

Blockpasto, an Expression of Layered Emotions by ‘Laolu Obende has opened at The Show Room, Mbari Uno (House of Collaboration). The two week long exhibition holding at Mbari Uno located at 10C Ladoke Akintola Street, Ikeja G.R.A., features an array of paintings using the blockpasto technique.

‘Blockpasto,’ Laolu’s second offering, foretells of his innovative feat, eclecticism, and passion for registering his imprint on the flourishing Nigerian contemporary visual art space. Blockpasto is a coinage emanating from two words, ‘’block’’ and ‘’impasto.’’ Impasto is a technique used in painting; this technique allows the paint which is laid on an area of the surface to have very thick layers.

According to Laolu Obende, “Life, as we know, is changing rapidly. These changes reach the building blocks of our reality. Blocks reflect unseen emotions and unspoken truths. The dwindling fortunes of the Nigerian economy have shaken its people, disrupting these blocks of reality and forcing us to question our long-held beliefs. I want to help shed light on those hidden realities and emotions and pull attention to the broad and colourful spectrum of the many blocks of our reality. The Blockpasto art form allows us to peer into our depths through a tapestry of varied and coordinated textures, forms and media, evoking familiar emotions within us.”

Artist, Laolu Obende is a hybrid creative. Born on the 25th of August 1981 in Benin City-Nigeria, Laolu is a thorough-bred creative in every sense. He was raised in the ancient city of Ibadan by an artist father and this led to Laolu’s inclination towards creative expressions at a very young age. Laolu’s creative influences span across several disciplines while his curiosity keeps broadening his life perspectives. After his first Solo exhibition in 2009, he has painted on commissions specifically, and now combines both Painting and Advertising disciplines in full.

He has joined the likes of Ibe Ananaba, Lekan Onabanjo and a few other Contemporary Nigerian artists who refused to be swamped by the frantic nature of the advertising industry but consolidate their rapport with their palette.