Nature Morte is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Adébayo Bolaji. The works were created in Jaipur in March 2025 during a residency at Sattva Theatre & Art.

In the words of the artist:

“During a month-long residency in Jaipur at Sattva Theatre & Art, I was surrounded by rhythm, by heat, by history made visible in stone, pattern, and sky. But what stirred and lingered with me most was not just the beauty I saw — it was the beauty that had survived.

What the flame could never burn is not just a reflection of place. It’s a meditation on the parts of us that persist — the inner presence that endures impact, the essence that resists being reduced. In Jaipur, I was thinking of humanity — of how individuals rise after pain. Of how something in us refuses to disappear, even when changed. This body of work is about that refusal. About the quiet strength we discover not before struggle, but through it and in this i think there is a shared humanity even though externally we may be different. This was what my initial idea of the residency was… to see if difference could be wisdom for’ our brilliance.

These paintings are offerings — not answers, but moments.

Each one speaks to the process of “the flame” or what remains when the worst is over.”

Adébayo Bolaji merges figuration with abstraction to build allegorical compositions steeped in symbolism, metaphor, and psychological depth. Dynamic profiles emerge from a kaleidoscope of fragmented forms and radiant colors, evoking a dreamlike space charged with chaos and movement. Drawing from history, anthropology, religion, and popular culture, Bolaji develops a symbolic visual language to probe questions of identity, power, and cultural memory.