Today we’d like to introduce you to John Akindele.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My artistic journey began at a very tender age in which I was inspired by my father’s sketch pad, a drawing of a lioness and her cup, I got connected with that particular sketch and I began to find a means to always replicate that picture, so at a particular stage of my life I decided to pursue a formal education considering enrolling in an art school to receive formal training and mentorship.
I’ve also been inspired in everyday activities including societies and it environment, appreciating blacks and paying homage to African as a whole, in this journey I have also found interest in the study of women in Africa and it has become a history that is widely respected in African society, we know the fact that their physical features are to die for though,
-Their natural hair
-Their solidy
-Their inability to age
-Their perseverance
-Their differences
-Their skin color
All these elements have make me focus on women in my work of art.
One striking feature of my work, for example, is how I captures nappturality, the hairstyles of Black women who have chosen to exclusively wear their hair in a natural, afro-textured state. Over the past few years, I have developed into a full-time studio artist working across a range of techniques and mediums, exhibiting internationally. The mastery of figurative art brings forth the movement and moods of my subjects, and leaves viewers inspired and mesmerized.
the symbolism of the objects they hold In the creation, I prettily emerge objects in relation to their beauty, (flowers basically)
-To say love
-Console in sorrow
-Hope in love
-Light
-innocence
-elegance
-strength and courage.
Basically, I’m trying to portray a historic past lives of their physical appearance, in their natural Afro hairs, cultural identities, with African jewelries that speaks royalty.
And now, my art is an ongoing exploration of the soul—mine and yours. I portray my subjects in deep contemplation, wrapped in vibrant colors that span from regal jewel tones to electric neon brights. These hues aren’t just aesthetic choices; they’re intentional expressions of inner life, emotional range, and cultural vibrancy.
I also began my artistic journey experimenting with charcoal and liquid acrylic. These materials—fluid, raw, and deeply expressive—taught me how to channel complexity through the human form. Through figurative painting, I’ve come to believe that we come closer to understanding ourselves as creative, interactive beings. The body is more than a subject—it is a language.
My work is deeply rooted in my African-Nigerian heritage. It is a tribute to where I come from and who I am becoming. I pay particular homage to Black feminine identity and expression, which I view
as central to the pulse of African society. The grace, strength, and spiritual depth embodied by Black women continues to inspire the narratives I paint. My gratitude for their influence is woven into every canvas.
My artistic vision is to elevate the everyday into the sacred, to render emotion visible, and to hold space for reflection—both personal and collective. Thematically, my work dances between identity,
memory, cultural lineage, and the quiet power of introspection. I draw inspiration from the ancestral, the spiritual, and the stylistic influences of both contemporary and classical African aesthetics.
Looking forward, I am focused on expanding the reach of my storytelling through more solo exhibitions. Each show is an opportunity to unfold a new chapter, to deepen the dialogue between viewer and subject. My goal is not only to evolve as a painter but to create spaces where others see themselves—honored, complex, and whole.
Through color, form, and feeling, I am telling a story that is far from over. My art is my way of participating in legacy-building—one brushstroke at a time.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Creating visibility and awareness of the stories I tell, is very challenging for me as an artist, One of the challenges I continually encounter as an artist is creating visibility and awareness around the stories embedded within my work. Painting, for me, is not simply an act of depicting the figure or creating an aesthetically compelling image; it is a way of giving form to ideas, memories, emotions, cultural experiences, and questions that may otherwise remain difficult to articulate.
My figures often carry stories that extend beyond what is immediately visible. Through gesture, posture, expression, clothing, natural hair, African motifs, objects, and the relationships between figures and their surroundings, I try to create a visual language through which these stories can be felt. Yet, in an increasingly crowded visual world, one of the greatest difficulties is encouraging the viewer to slow down enough to look beyond the surface.
Visibility is therefore not only about having my work seen. It is about creating the conditions for the work to be encountered, considered, and understood. I want my paintings to move beyond the fleeting attention of an image on a screen and become spaces in which viewers can recognize something—perhaps a memory, a feeling, a cultural connection, or even a part of themselves.
There is also a deeper challenge in bringing stories rooted in African experiences into wider contemporary art conversations. I am interested in presenting African identity not as a fixed idea or stereotype, but as something living, layered, evolving, and deeply human. My work draws from the beauty, complexity, history, and emotional realities surrounding Black and African life, while allowing the figures to exist beyond the limitations of representation. Also balancing everyday life with one’s spiritual or holy pursuits can be a delicate and ongoing process, in other words, finding balance between everyday life and one’s spiritual pursuits is a highly personal and ongoing process. It only requires patience, self-awareness, and a willingness to adapt and evolve.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My practice explores contemporary African identity through symbolic figurative painting that celebrates the beauty, dignity, resilience, and spiritual depth of Black life. Working primarily with Black African figures distinguished by natural Afro hairstyles, I create contemplative narratives that transform everyday moments into visual metaphors, revealing hope, love, identity, purpose, and the promise of better days.
Each painting begins as a symbolic vision before taking shape through preparatory sketches, carefully selected models, thoughtfully designed costumes, and controlled studio lighting that produces a dramatic chiaroscuro. I combine impressionistic brushwork, layered painting techniques, stencil applications, and expressive dabbing methods to build richly textured surfaces. African floral motifs are woven throughout my compositions, while recurring elements—including luminous halos surrounding the orí (head), doves, lamps, bronze forms, balloons, roses, musical instruments, and scarves—form a recurring visual vocabulary that carries symbolic meaning across my body of work.
My work is grounded in themes of hope as a transformative force, light as a metaphor for purity and love, and beauty as an expression of royalty, dignity, and boldness. Rather than presenting symbols with fixed meanings, I invite viewers to engage with them as open metaphors that encourage personal reflection and multiple interpretations. Through these layered narratives, I seek to reveal the extraordinary within the ordinary and to affirm the richness of African experience with both emotional honesty and poetic imagination.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
People can work with me through exhibitions, commissions, creative collaborations, curatorial projects, and opportunities that create meaningful dialogue around my practice. I am particularly interested in collaborating with galleries, curators, collectors, cultural institutions, writers, designers, musicians, and other creatives whose ideas can create new ways of engaging with the stories and themes within my work.
As an artist, I am interested not only in making paintings, but in building a wider conversation around them. I welcome collaborations that allow my work to enter new spaces, communities, and perspectives while remaining grounded in the ideas of identity, memory, beauty, humanity, and the complexities of African experience that inform my practice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.akindelejohn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akindelejohnn?igsi=MXU0dDIwYzg4cjVzeQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
