Lagos, newly bathed in sunshine after a relentless week of rain, felt almost poetic on the final Saturday of May. The city seemed to exhale and with that breath came the familiar rhythm of weekend life, as we journey into Path to Peace and Restoration exhibition, celebrating the new collections from master storyteller Biodun Omolayo inside Omolayo Gallery Lagos. Writes Ireho Aito.

As expected, the Lagos weekend manual was in full effect, as usual, the buzz of owanbes spilling into streets, street vendors hustling under canopies, the hum of spontaneous events popping up on every corner, and the unmistakable scent of suya dancing with the sound of Afrobeat and its eclectic offspring, Afrobeats rendering through the traffic- air.

Everywhere, conversations simmered with anticipation. From barbershops to beer parlours, Lagosians were dissecting the evening’s big drama — the UEFA Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan.

But beyond the noise and thrill of the city’s cultural heartbeat, something quieter and perhaps more profound is unfolding.

Tuck away in the warm familiarity of City Mall, Onikan, situated above the everyday chaos, was a celebration of a different kind; “Path to Peace and Restoration,” a deeply human, deeply healing art exhibition by Biodun Omolayo at his namesake gallery, Omolayo Gallery.

In a city that rarely stops moving, here is a space that invites you to pause, breathe, and feel.
One unique approach about Omolayo Gallery is the welcoming sequence from the gallery. Right from the main entrance, ushers were already walking in angelic cat – walk to lead guests and patrons up the stairs.

Just as I stepped in, I was greeted by Merit, an emerging artist, effortlessly stylish and smiling, motioning me to follow her upstairs. We ascend the staircase, and just as we, the sound of Nigeria’s global icon in music, Majek Fashek’s “Send Down the Rain” pours through the speakers, a reminder of fate, hope, and the subtle poetry of timing.

This is no ordinary showing. This is Biodun Omolayo’s latest exhibition titled “Path to Peace and Restoration.” A name that does not just hang on the wall, but infuses every canvas with a sense of purpose.

We arrive at Omolayo Gallery, a space that seems to breathe peace, joy, and artistic energy. With each step through its door, the noise of Lagos dissolves. The gallery don’t just houses art, obviously it pulses with it.

Distinctively standing out in style is the magic already created within the walls.
If you have ever entered a room and been instantly transfixed, then you know the feeling. Omolayo Gallery doesn’t simply welcome you, instead it pulls you in. The white walls are alive with colour, stories, and emotion. The moment the wooden door swings open and the doorbell chimes, you are no longer in a mall, rather you are in another world.

And what greets you? A stunning arrangement of 45 bold, imaginative works, all orbiting around a single, powerful theme: “Path to Peace and Restoration.”

This exhibition, curated by one and only, eminently qualified curator, Moses Ohiomokhare, is as profound as the man behind it. Known for pouring his soul into every artistic creation, Biodun Omolayo whose first name is a shortened version from Ojogbogbobiodun, which means everyday is a milestone, continues to inspire collectors, critics, and curious minds alike.

One standout piece shares the exhibition’s title; “Path to Peace.” A large, enigmatic mixed media work that doesn’t just hang, it commands. The work invites reflection, and more than that, it sets the tone for what the rest of the gallery promises, restoration, reflection, and a journey into art’s healing power.

A massive mixed media piece, 182cm by 122cm. “Path to Peace” isn’t just visually arresting; it’s an invitation. Trees lean in, a stream winds quietly, the whole composition whispering calm. It’s less painting, more pilgrimage and a journey inward. The piece must have drained the artist himself emotionally in composition. The attention it garners from patrons makes the expected connection from the work to the patrons to be more profound.
Who won’t appreciate the presence of masters in the building in a camaraderie and exchange of notes at such occasion. Present and standing like a typical art – gladiator in his inviting white kaftan with a cap to match is teacher and sculptor, Dr. Adeola Balogun, Omolayo’s teacher at Yaba College of Technology Lagos. One of the first persons to see the future the artist holds. It was spot on for Adeola Balogun to recognise the potential in a banker who was trying to switch career. They both have a lot in common.

Always standing behind every artist who needs him is Moses Ohiomokhare, a quintessential gentleman of Art. He reveals he is an artist at heart. He guides and guards artists through the stages to global recognition. His curatorial practice has stood the test of time and he is highly a man of honour since his days at Quintessential gallery. Moses Ohiomokhare pioneering work in curatorial practice is well documented both in Nigeria and several parts of Europe. He is indeed the fatherly Moses!

Right from his first exhibition titled ‘Naming Ceremony’ that gave him the artistic licence in the industry, Biodun Omolayo has refused to look back. His exemplary and sterling career has given birth to Young at Art, a Children’s Workshop Series that risen to global acclaim with participants scattered all across the world. Tributes and more accolades have been pouring in for Biodun Omolayo and Omolayo Gallery respectively for their contributions towards the industry.

From the collection of works on display, inspired by the constant connection with God, Biodun Omolayo provides a real life situations in most of the works and he has been able to interpret them in vivid colours. For a man whose library is as rich as his works, Ojogbogbobiodun as his late father called him is like a centerspread of connections with nature himself.

From there, the gallery unfolds the exhibition like a storybook, flipping through to be read. 45 pieces of artwork, each telling tales of love, nature, intimacy, resilience, and identity. And like any good story, they don’t just speak, they listen.

Between Canvas and connection, lies the power of Omolayo. There is a serenity in “The Village Stream” and a warmth affection in “Friendly Conversation,” where trees and sky engage in hushed dialogue with couple in the warmest accord. “Waterside Estate” offers a modern counterpoint of Lagos reimagined, as a space of stillness. The architectural attraction gives the work a life. Such estates are in Lagos and this is our reality that nature finds us to be part of our everyday living.

Omolayo’s strength lies in his emotional versatility. In “Lover’s Garden” and “No Ethnicity in the Other Room”, sensuality is treated with tenderness. These works, intimate yet unapologetic, challenge the gaze and invite reflection. Here, lovers are not characters, but metaphors for unity, vulnerability and trust.

Female subjects also command the space. “Adanna” is resplendent, urbane cultured, fashionable, defiant in her gaze. “Funmi”, captured from behind, leaves everything and nothing to the imagination. Omolayo paints women not as muses, but as monuments that soft and strong in equal measure. He actually confesses that the model’s name is Funmi.

Who hates Isale Eko? No One! Not even in my lifetime. It moulds the name center of excellence and aquatic splendour!
From musicians, to filmmakers, down to writers and artists, Isale Eko has been revered by everyone through creative explorations. Isale Eko continues to enjoy special place in the hearts of everyone as one unique custodian of Lagos.
When people gather to talk about Nigeria, they gradually navigates towards Lagos stories. And they say, “then there is Lagos. Always present, always layered,” they components the city. The same way Biodun Omolayo has stuns his patrons with “Eko Atijo Isale Eko,” a masterclass in movement. Cart pushers, buses, vendors, what do you see in the work? The hum of survival rendered in oil. At the other corner, bold and arresting to the eyes, “The Pepper Pickers” brings reality of life into focus where women crouched in shared effort, a man pouring produce, the eternal choreography of harvest and hope.

Even in “I Missed Switzerland”, painted in longing, nostalgic feeling, that never quite leaves the frame. It is a longing for a moment in time. Biodun Omolayo, painted some of his experiences, a version that only existed in the landscape.

Path to Peace and Restoration” isn’t just an art exhibition. It’s a room full of truths, delicately painted and boldly placed. Biodun Omolayo, remains ever the observer, curator, and creator and writer, does not just hang art on walls. He offers windows into what matters such as connection, culture, vulnerability, and healing.

In a city like Lagos, where chaos often drowns the quiet, Omolayo dares to whisper and somehow, we all lean in.

In “Stan More Pool,” an oil on canvas inspired by Omolayo’s postgraduate years in the UK, we see the artist at his most reflective. This is a global canvas with the touch of an artistic soul. The piece captures the tranquil stillness of a British pool, transformed by the lens of a Nigerian soul.

And just as Omolayo leads us into the quiet, he pulls us into grandeur. “Big Boys Game,” a lively Polo scene in acrylic, bursts with motion and masculine energy, yet it retains the artist’s trademark restraint. It’s a celebration of sport, class, and composure, all riding together across the canvas.

The Feminine gaze, is reimagined by the artist. The feminine gender is the soul of existence. Among the most stirring works is “The Brain of a Woman” done in watercolour where Omolayo defies stereotypes with remarkable gentleness. Instead of idealised beauty, he paints depth to see a nuanced portrayal of female intellect, emotional strength, and intuitive vision. It’s not loud, but it lingers.

Similarly, “The Bond I and II,” both oil painting of mother and child, a series that feels sacred in its intimacy. There’s no drama in the composition, just connection, a tender rendering of caregiving as the most enduring form of peace.

Omolayo is unafraid to contrast. In “The Rich Man’s Garden,” he plays with abundance not just in material terms, but in colour, texture, and symbolic overflow. It’s lush, layered, and slightly ironic. Where some artists romanticize wealth, Omolayo studies it with curiosity rather than judgment.

“The Rich Man’s Garden,” draws from a seemingly ordinary moment that left an extraordinary impression on the artist. Omolayo recounts a visit to one of his uncles, where it wasn’t the house that caught his attention, but the neighbour’s garden next door. The lawn, meticulously mowed into geometric patterns, and the precisely arranged flowers left him awestruck. What struck him wasn’t just the beauty, but the discipline — the way care and creativity could transform a simple green space into a living work of art. That memory found its way onto canvas, blooming into a painting that now stands as a quiet ode to order, beauty, and the artistry in everyday life

He shifts gears again with “In Search of Education,” where we follow a solitary figure on a journey of aspiration. The message is quiet but clear: knowledge is its own kind of restoration.

At Path to Peace and Restoration, one sees light, symbol, and the art of redemption. Tucked quietly into the rhythm of the exhibition are three works that do not shout but they whisper. Yet their impact is anything but small.

First is “Harbinger of Peace”, a delicately rendered oil on canvas featuring a mother dove mid-flight, a leaf clutched gently in her beak as she returns to her nest. It’s a piece layered in meaning for peace not just as a concept, but as nurture, provision, and promise to build her home. The dove, so often, even biblically and spiritually, a symbol of peace and restoration flies with quiet dignity. It’s a whisper to the soul that even in the chaos, someone is still coming home to restore the good news. The curator, Moses Ohiomokhare, admits it to be one of his favourites.

Then comes “Flash of Hope”, a work in acrylic that lives up to its name. A beam of radiant colour cuts through a textured storm not literal lightning, but something deeper. Hope, in its purest form, isn’t loud or boastful. It flickers. It survives. And in this piece, it glows defiantly against the odds, a visual sigh of relief like a sunrise caught mid-breath.

And finally, there’s “Trumpet of Glory” a 1987 painting with a backstory as poignant as its composition. This is Biodun Omolayo’s first set of work as an emerging artist while trying to run fiat into the corporate world as a freshman.
Biodun Omolayo was once rejected by a prominent gallery, and the owner of the gallery told him, no way for him, as he had no name. This rejection spurred Biodun to turn the story around. Today, Biodun Omolayo is not renowned as an artist, curator or galleries, he currently heads the executives of gallery owners association.
“Trumpet of Glory” now hangs boldly at Omolayo Gallery, not as an afterthought but as a centerpiece of redemption. The work, rich in gouache and layered emotion, seems to play its own name aloud, a silent fanfare for every artist who has been told “no,” only to return with work that demands a “yes.”

In these paintings, Omolayo doesn’t just showcase skill. He reveals his fervent philosophy that light matters, symbols heal, and rejection? Sometimes, it’s the prelude to triumph.

Words/ Ireho Aito/ Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger!/Artworks/ Omolayo Gallery