Duke Asidere was born in Lagos in 1961 and is one of Nigeria’s leading contemporary artists. He studied Fine Art at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and graduated with a first class in Painting in 1988. He also earned a Masters in Fine Art from the same institution in 1990.

Asidere’s work engages contemporary African politics. Through visual metaphors, the artist comments on the everyday human drama that surrounds him; political, social, psychological or cultural. Furthermore, he adds an element of surprise to these sketches of human drama by infusing them with irony and humour.

Asidere’s broad oeuvre ranges from headless or limbless figures and faces of strangely hybrid beings to densely populated urban landscapes, accentuated with thick strokes of vivid colour. He has recently turned to car enamel paint, which he applies with a spray gun to produce emotionally charged works that retain figurative subject matter, and at the same time emphasize abstract qualities. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of Asidere’s style is his simplicity of form and expressive line, which he achieves with an economy of means.

Duke Asidere is well-exhibited in Nigeria and abroad and is a member of the Society of Nigerian Artists.