TIMI KAKANDAR

Press Release

Timi Kakandar: Portraits of Desires Longings and Search

Timi Kakandar thinks both abstractly and concretely. Timi transforms his canvasses into what I call a beautiful colour “labyrinth” , which are mostly applied with the palette knife. His seaters are camouflaged and drenched in a myraid of harmonious vivid and vibrant colours almost singing a melody into your eyes on a plain background of white yet the artist did mention that blue is his favorite colour.This in turn prepares the figure in the centre to assume total control as the only topic of attention, with no competing elements in the background.
Timi finishes his paintings with beautiful highlights which gives his works a push of depth a lighting approach that darkens the depths and highlights the curves. In the end, we are often left to see uniqueness and majesty in its purest form. Timi’s portraits are profound because he attempts to excavate an emotion, passion, or experience via his vibrant depictions of Black people. He’s one of the most prolific modern artists in Nigeria, having a significant fan following in both Nigeria and overseas.

“Portraits of Desires Longings and Search” is a narrative about our personal aspirations and how we achieve them on our voyage through life.

Timi Kakandar (born 1973) started his artistic career immediately after graduating from the University of Port Harcourt in 1999.
His paintings, drawings, and collages illustrate how the challenges, pleasures, and social and political dilemmas of living and working in Africa inspire his obsession with the human body. His art radiates a great intensity of vivid, unrefined hues and expressive lines that provide them with a presence that forcefully engages the viewer. Timi’s composition of human figures is dexterous, and his use of vibrant colours is reminiscent of Fauvism. He is one of the most prolific modern artists in Nigeria, having a significant fan following in both Nigeria and overseas.

In 2021, he was featured in the “Next Generation of Master Artists” section of Saatchi Art (United States of America).
As a special guest on the TVC Wakeup Nigeria Live television broadcast, he discussed the cultural influence of his art.

Recent exhibitions by Timi have included “Obsidian-In Luminous Flux” online edition by Madlozi Art Gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Akka Project hosted the ArtZero exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Faces and Forms: Contemporary Art Expo 3 at the Onikan National Museum in Lagos, Nigeria
Colour Codes at the Thought Pyramid Art Center in Abuja, Nigeria. Artankara Contemporary Art Fair, Ankara, Turkey’s capital (March 2022). Istanbul’s Art Contact Contemporary Art Fair (May 2022).
Queensland, Australia hosts the Instalive International Group Art Exhibition (May 2022).
Salon Afrique: A Homecoming Reimagined is an Art Exhibit at the Madlozi Art Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa (June 2022).
Portraits Exhibition at the Brick Lane Gallery, London, U.K.
(August to September 2022)
No Pain, No Gain Art Exhibition, Lagos Nigeria ( October 2022)
“Conversations in Colours” Fraser Suites Abuja (November 2022)

AUCTIONS
ArtHouse Contemporary Art Auction Lagos, Nigeria. (2020)
Aspire Art Auction, South Africa (2022) ARTSY online Auction (2022)
He works and resides in Lagos. He is a dedicated member of the Lagos Chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA).