Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...
October 6, 2021

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Adam Wells
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

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Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Written by
Adam Wells
Date Published
06/10/2021
Dennis Osadebe
African Art
Mixed Media
Digital Art
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
06/10/2021
Artist Spotlight
Adam Wells
Artist Spotlight - Dennis Osadebe
Tradition meets modernity in the colourful works of Dennis Osadebe...

Born in 1991, self-taught Nigerian Mixed-media artist Dennis Osadebe is defined in part by his mixing of the traditional and the modern. He composes his work digitally, before painting onto the prints with bold, colourful acrylic, making the physical pieces themselves unique and impossible to reproduce. Osadebe refers to his style as ‘Neo-Africa’, a term he coined in corrective response to the reductive ascription of ‘African Art’, and one which carries with it the implicit artistic legitimacy often downplayed, or even erased, by that description.

Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu
Dennis Osadebe, photographed by Jay Olowu

Osadebe’s work is often playful in its relation to the wider art world; The Nigerian Dream, for instance, stands as one of many reinterpretations of Western art, in this case Grant Wood’s American Gothic. In these pieces, the artworks are reproduced with the iconography of African culture inserted in a style both humorous and provocative, with Osadebe blending cultures in the same way that he blends physical and digital art.

RIGHT: The Game We Play, Dennis Osabede, 2018 | LEFT: The Nigerian Dream, Dennis Osabede, 2020

In the same way that his methods combine the traditional with the contemporary, so too does the content of Osabede’s work. As well as representing the apparent facelessness of African figures in Western artistic tradition, the use of traditional African masks and space-helmets reflect this dichotomy, combining the old with the new.

In placing the mask and the space-helmet side-by-side like this, Osabede encourages the viewer to reconsider and recontextualise the historical art of Africa within the context of the rapidly-changing modern world. The traditional style of the African mask within the post-pop aesthetic of his work further suggests this, as well as the frequent parodying of other existing artworks.

Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Still With Pride, Dennis Osabede, 2021

With an exhibition at New York’s GR Gallery earlier this year, along with his recent collaboration with Racquet Magazine, Dennis Osadebe has established himself as a rising talent within the art world, arguably founding a new artistic movement in ‘Neo-Africa’.

Odd Self, Dennis Osabede, 2021
Odd Self, Dennis Osadebe, 2021

Dennis Osadebe’s work can be found at https://www.dennisosadebe.com/ and @dennisosabede on Instagram.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS