Dr. Adeola Balogun comes across as a maverick artist each time one encounters him. This is hardly news to those who know him closely; in fact, some have said so to his hearing on more than one occasion. His exhibitions often leave visitors with much to think about, combining an intellectually stimulating experience with an unmistakable creative obsession. This was once again on display in his latest offering, Culmination: Linking Then and Now, which opened to the public at the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, on November 1.
The opening offered several moments worth a second look, with highlights that stirred curiosity and invited deeper engagement with the works. As the exhibition continues over the coming weeks, iBAND Magazine captures some of those memorable moments from the opening.
Words Ireho Aito | Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger!
An Exhibition in an Unusual Setting
On Sunday, November 1, 2026, the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, Lagos, provided an interesting setting for the opening of Culmination: Linking Then and Now, a solo exhibition by renowned Nigerian sculptor and art educator, Dr Adeola Balogun.
Organised by Adeline Gallery, the exhibition brought together art collectors, cultural enthusiasts, academics, friends and admirers of the artist for an afternoon of art, conversations and reconnections.
Taking contemporary visual art into the Metropolitan Club, an exclusive members’ club associated with an influential circle of Nigerian society, was itself an interesting creative decision. It offered an opportunity to introduce the artist’s work to a different audience.
The location also presented an interesting coincidence. The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), an institution concerned with international relations and Nigeria’s place in the global community, is the club’s next-door neighbour. With an exhibition exploring history, identity and contemporary expression, the setting offered an interesting connection between art, culture and international perspectives.
“This Is My Protégé!” – Yemisi Shyllon’s Special Tribute
One of the memorable moments came from Prince Yemisi Shyllon, one of Nigeria’s foremost art collectors, whose relationship with Balogun dates back more than three decades.
“This is my protégé!” he declared, drawing attention to a relationship that began when the artist was a young assistant lecturer at Yaba College of Technology.
Shyllon recalled attending a departmental exhibition at the institution, where five works by the young Balogun immediately caught his attention. He bought all five and asked to meet the artist responsible.
“I met Adeola Balogun when he was just 29 years old,” he recalled.
When the young artist was introduced to him, Shyllon remembered asking in disbelief, “You mean you did this?”
His most striking comment was his confession that “Adeola Balogun is the only artist who can drag me out of my house to attend exhibitions.”
It was more than a compliment. It was a collector’s personal testimony to the artist’s consistency and the relationship he has maintained with those who have supported his journey.
Shyllon also encouraged Nigerians to take art collecting more seriously, observing that “One area for storing wealth is art.”
A New Conversation Between History and Technology
Beyond the speeches and reunions, the exhibition offered another opportunity to appreciate Balogun’s continuing experimentation.
For an artist whose reputation has been built largely around metal sculpture, Culmination revealed a fresh conversation between sculpture, painting, mixed media, African history and technology.
The new body of work draws from images of his earlier sculptures and historical references, bringing them into mixed-media compositions through the introduction of electronic circuit-board patterns and conductive lines.
What makes this exploration particularly interesting is the cultural meaning Balogun attaches to these lines. He sees a connection between the geometry of electronic circuits and the traditional Yoruba Ila, the facial marks associated with identity and belonging, which also feature prominently in Gelede masks.
In his interpretation, the electronic track lines become a contemporary expression of an older visual language. The materials may have changed, but the underlying ideas of identity, communication and connection remain.
Reimagining African Historical Figures
The artist revisits African historical personalities and cultural figures through works such as Mansa Musa Re-envisioned, Queen Nefertiti Re-envisioned and Oloolu Re-envisioned.
These works reflect his interest in bringing African history and indigenous knowledge into contemporary conversations.
Rather than treating history as something locked away in the past, Balogun draws on familiar historical references to explore how cultural memory can continue to find expression through contemporary art.
From Selfie to Entangled
Another interesting work is Selfie, which explores society’s growing attachment to mobile phones and technology. Through the figure of a woman taking a selfie, surrounded by electronic track lines, Balogun considers how technological innovations have gradually become part of our everyday habits and experiences.
Other works, including The Queen and the Burden of Royalty, The Mirage Called Time, AI: The Genie is on the Loose and We Dey Manage – God Dey Ooo!, reveal the range of subjects occupying the artist’s imagination. The series on display are all captivating.
There is history, royalty, humour, social observation and the anxieties of contemporary existence. The works move between serious cultural reflections and familiar experiences of everyday life.
Adeline Gallery and the Art of Bringing People Together
For Adeline Gallery, taking the exhibition to the Metropolitan Club was also an opportunity to introduce contemporary Nigerian art into a different social and cultural environment.
Dele Awosika’s initiative brought the artist and his works into a distinguished members’ club, creating a meeting point for art appreciation, collecting and conversations about cultural heritage.
The choice of venue was significant. It placed the works in an environment where people from different professional and social backgrounds could encounter Balogun’s artistic ideas.
A Journey of Three Decades Comes Together
Balogun, in his response, acknowledged Prince Yemisi Shyllon’s longstanding encouragement and support, recalling their relationship and a memorable visit to the collector’s garden in 1995.
For the artist, the exhibition was not simply about presenting new works. It was about bringing together ideas and experiments that have developed over several years. Some of the mixed-media explorations have their beginnings almost 30 years ago, making the title Culmination particularly meaningful.
iBAND Magazine, Celebrating Visual Art from the Original.
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