MTC ART GALLERY

African Art

Honoring Black History Month
February 2007

LunchStop Café
101 8th St.
First Floor

Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays
(Show continues through March 2007)

Yinka Adeyemi

Yinka Adeyemi has been one of Nigeria’s leading contemporary artists for the past four decades. He is among the original artists of the distinguished Oshogbo art movement of the Yoruba of western Nigeria. Oshogbo is known for its rich cultural heritage, which has been celebrated annually with the Osun Festival. Many prominent Nigerian artists, musicians, playwrights and actors have a connection with Oshogbo through training, employment, residence, etc. Yinka’s contemporaries include Twin Seven Seven, Jimoh Buraimoh, Adebis Fabunmi, Jinadu Oladepo, and the late Asiru Olatunde, Rufus Ogundele, Jacob Afolabi and Tijani Mayakari.

Yinka was a student of Susanne Wenger and S. I. Wangboje. He served as cultural assistant at the University of Ife and the Institute of African Studies. He was an artist in residence in the Fine Arts Department at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife. Additionally, he has conducted batik and print making workshops. He is a cultural ambassador, and his art depicts Yoruba customs and tradition. Yinka uses his instinctive wisdom, life experience and genius to create stories that record past and present folklore, customs and beliefs of his homeland. A resident of Oakland, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Africa, Europe and America. Yinka’s expertise includes batik paintings on cloth and rice paper, bead mosaic art paintings, tapestry, mono and lino prints, etc.

Okaybabs

Okaybabs is a world-renowned artist whose versatility is his trademark. He has been an artist for as long as he can remember. He was overall best student when he graduated from The Polytechnic of Ibadan, Nigeria, with a National Diploma in Fine Art. He then went on to receive a BA in Fine Art from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly the University of Ife) where he specialized in painting. Whilst at Obafemi Awolowo University he was recognized for his exceptional creative skills.

A widely sought-after artist, he has been featured by many national and international newspapers and magazines. These include “The Press Enterprise” of Riverside, California, which featured him in its March 1997 edition, and the “Art Business News,” an international art magazine based in New York. “The San Bernardino Sun” along with “Art Trend” devoted more than a whole page to his art work. The following newspapers / magazines also have featured Okaybabs and his art work: “Art World News” published monthly in Rowayton, Connecticut (distributed world wide), “Precinct Reporter” of San Bernardino, “Redlands Daily Facts,” “Fontana Daily Bulletin,” “Black Voice” and “Empire Saver Guide.” In Nigeria, he was featured in the “Daily Times,” “Sunday Concord” and “Cradle News.” Okaybabs holds membership affiliates with the Riverside Art Museum, Art Council of San Bernardino and Redlands Art Association, where he teaches art to student of all ages. He operates his Art Studio and Gallery in the city of San Bernardino, California. His unique style of using natural materials, such as soil and raffia for his mixed-media series, has brought him much attention by art collectors and admirers across the globe. Among such dignitaries are Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Senate President of Nigeria, and General Collin Powell.

Dr. Adeyinka Fashokun

A native of Imesi-Ile in Oshun State, Nigeria, Dr. Adeyinka Fashokun was born in 1954. He received his early education and training in Nigeria. He attended Yaba College of Technology where he earned his Diploma in General Art in 1978, and worked as a textile designer with the Aladire Export Company in Lagos. He later worked with the Punch Newspaper, a major national news publisher in Nigeria, as a socio-political cartoonist and a graphic designer.

A resident of Alameda, Dr. Fashokun since has served in various school districts in various capacities. He is currently a Vice Principal at Clayton Valley High School in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, Concord. He is also a lecturer at Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, teaching Yoruba Language. Despite his busy schedule as a school administrator, Dr. Fashokun finds time to commit himself to his primary profession as a visual artist. His work includes paintings, photographs, and various graphic design and illustration projects and cartoons for newspapers. He also consults. Dr. Fashokun has won several awards including the California College of Arts and Crafts Graduate Award; the Civic Art Award from the City of Walnut Creek; and Doctoral Dissertation Award from the Phi Delta Kappa.

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MUCH ADO ABOUT THE SHOW

My name is Yomi Ogunrinola, a Yoruba man from Nigeria who finds much in common between Oakland and some Yoruba towns and cities back home. I had resided in Corona, southern California, for 7 years before I ventured this far north. It was during the 2003 Thanksgiving Holiday and I planned to see and reconnect with an old friend from my university days in Nigeria. It turned out to be a visit that gives me reason aplenty to give thanks till today, for I ended up relocating to the Bay Area and also found myself a wife!

In April 2004, I opened a shop along Grand Ave. in Oakland, selling African art works, fabric and assorted home décor. Unknowingly, I had committed one of the crucial errors in marketing that could spell a quick and sudden demise of any business venture — improper location! My shop was in an area better suited for service-oriented businesses, so I packed it in after 4 short but memorable months. Memorable because of the pleasant people who came into the shop and shared some of their time with me. I still maintain contact and remain friends with some of them today.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so they say. Laden with much inventory I had to devise a way to build something tangible out of the ashes of a seemingly failed venture, thus I approached galleries and other social venues fitting for art shows and exhibitions and proceeded to organize cultural events that were family-friendly. In the course of producing these shows I have crossed paths with several multi-talented artists who are more than willing to feature in my events, thereby resulting in entertaining, robust and truly enlightening shows.

The Yoruba have an adage that goes, “Omode t’o ba m’owo we yio ba agba jeun”. This may be surmised to mean that the youth who presents himself/herself with the proper attitude shall be asked to feast with the elders. I am at the crawling stage in this business, still to learn how to walk, and then to run. I enjoy my fellowship with people who have been in this business for decades and appreciate the confidence put in me by respected elders in this community.

These works are from but a token of the artists in this area and I’m unable to find the words to describe how rewarding it is for me to have this opportunity to share their creations with you. Many of the works are available in Giclee or Lithograph at much reduced prices. Kindly contact either the artist or myself, or simply put your name on the list on the counter and we will get in touch with you. Thank you for appreciating these works and I hope you won’t forget to save the reception date of Feb 8, 2007, 4:30 – 7 pm. There you shall see amazing Shona Stone sculptures by Stalin Tafura and witness the incredible Chinyakare Ensemble perform song & dance of Zimbabwe.

Yomi Ogunrinola • 909.496.5563 • admin@crafteddecor.com