Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, born on April 3, 1943, in Osogbo, Osun State, is one of Nigeria's most celebrated modern artists and a pioneer of the Osogbo Art Movement of the 1960s. His work blends Western techniques with Yoruba motifs, reflecting a deep cultural heritage. Renowned for his oil paintings, etchings, and especially his unique bead paintings and mosaic murals, Buraimoh...
Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, born on April 3, 1943, in Osogbo, Osun State, is one of Nigeria's most celebrated modern artists and a pioneer of the Osogbo Art Movement of the 1960s. His work blends Western techniques with Yoruba motifs, reflecting a deep cultural heritage. Renowned for his oil paintings, etchings, and especially his unique bead paintings and mosaic murals, Buraimoh became Africa's first bead painter in 1964, transforming traditional beadwork into a contemporary art form.
His artworks are featured in prestigious institutions, including the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington, DC. His monumental mosaic murals decorate public spaces in Nigeria, Europe, and the United States. He represented Nigeria at major events such as the First All African Trade Fair in Nairobi (1972) and FESTAC in Lagos (1977).
Buraimoh has received numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center for African and African American Art and Culture in San Francisco (1996) and an Award of Excellence from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission (1997). Beyond his artistic career, he is a devoted educator and community leader, conducting art workshops globally and contributing to arts education programs in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Jimoh Buraimoh
In bold, abstract forms, the father and mother rise like sheltering trees-tall, protective, powerful. Beneath them, three smaller figures rest like blooming branches, held within their presence. The Roots and the Branches is a visual metaphor for family where love is not always spoken, but always felt. Through distortion and form, the painting reveals strength, unity, and the quiet beauty of belonging.
Jimoh Buraimoh
Distorted, layered, and alive with mystery these abstract masks blur the line between concealment and expression. Faces We Don't Speak Of explores identity in fragments, where each mask is both a shield and a mirror. The forms are not literal they are felt. Painted with energy and intention, the piece asks: What parts of us do we show, and what parts do we hide?
Jimoh Buraimoh
This is not just a painting, it's a conversation with the unseen. Beneath the Surface dives into layers of colour, form, and raw emotion. There are no clear figures, yet something familiar stirs. The work invites you to get lost, to feel, to question. It holds silence and chaos in equal measure, echoing the complexity of thought, memory, and identity. Every brushstroke hides a truth you can only feel.
Jimoh Buraimoh
Three figures emerge through shapes and colour undefined, yet undeniably connected. In The Third Voice, presence is felt more than seen, as each form balances the other in silent harmony. This abstract piece speaks of unity, distance, and the invisible threads that bind us, even when faces are hidden and lines are blurred.
Jimoh Buraimoh
Bold lines. Vibrant patterns. Echoes of drums in every stroke. Rhythms of the Continent is an abstract expression of Africa's spirit unbound by form, yet deeply rooted in story. The piece pulses with ancestral energy, where colours speak louder than figures, and movement replaces language. It's not meant to explain it's meant to feel.
