Yusuf Grillo

Lagos as a source of subjects

Yusuf Grillo was born in Lagos in 1934 and grew up in the area known as the Brazilian Quarters. The Yemisi Shyllon Museum describes Yoruba ceremonies and festivities as part of the visual world he encountered there. It also identifies early guidance from Nigerian art teachers including Aina Onabolu.

Knowing that setting helps make sense of the varied occupations and activities in his paintings. A portrait in profile and a gathering of musicians can share a palette without telling the same story. Grillo paid attention to how clothes, gestures and posture carry information about a figure.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2]

A different voice in a shared project

Grillo went on to study fine art and art education at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology in Zaria. He joined the Zaria Art Society, whose members explored relationships between the art training they received and Nigerian forms of making. His paintings show one distinct response to the problem of Natural Synthesis.

The museum connects his blues to Yoruba adire textiles and draws attention to colour combinations that vary from picture to picture. A colour can refer to a material tradition while also organizing attention within the composition. In Abe nu Gongo, bright dress stands out against the dark background.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2]

From pictures to teaching

Grillo’s work as head of Art and Printing at Yaba College of Technology gave his career a long educational dimension. His paintings and that institutional work are separate ways to trace his influence. The first makes a visual approach available to viewers; the second gave students a setting in which to test methods of their own.

Sources for this section: [3] · [1]