OGUNDELE, Rufus

Graphic Artist, Painter Address: PO Box 113, Oshogbo, Oshun State. Birth: In 1946. Training: Attended Oshogbo art workshops, Oshogbo, 1963 and 1964; etching/printmaking workshop conducted by Dutch graphic artist, Ru van Rossem, Oshogbo, 1965. Profile: Brother of Labayo Ogundele; employed, Institute of African Studies, University of Ife, Ile-Ife; artist-in-residence, Iwalewa-Haus, University of Bayreuth, Germany, 1983; freelance artist. Solo Exhibitions Goethe Institute, Lagos, June 10-19, 1970. Goethe Institute, Lagos, June 28-July 8, 1972. Goethe Institute, Lagos, October 23-November 2, 1974. "Exhibition of Works by Rufus Ogundele," Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1976. Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1981. "Rufus Ogundele," Galerie Schwarz-Weiss, Munich, Germany, 1984. Group Exhibitions Phelps-Stokes Fund, New York, 1965. Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition of African Prints, USA, 1966-1968. "Contemporary African Art," Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, March 17- April 18, 1967. "Contemporary Nigerian Art: Exhibition for Ori-Olokun Opening," Ori-Olukun Cultural Centre, Ile-Ife, June 1968. "Contemporary African Art," Camden Arts Centre, London, August-September 1969. "Contemporary African Art," Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, USA, March 13-May4, 1969. [traveled in the USA from 1969-1973 to: Studio Museum in Harlem and New York University, New York; University of Missouri, Columbia; Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland; West Virginia State College, Institute; North East Missouri State College, Kirskville; Rio Hondo College, Whittier, California; Compton Community College, Compton, California; Citrus College, Azusa, California; Mira Costa College, Oceanside, California, and Civic Arts Gallery, Walnut Creek, California]. "Oeuvres Africaines Nouvelles," Musee de l'Homme, Paris, France, February 13- April 13, 1970. "Moderne Malerei in Afrika," Museum fur Volkerkunde, Vienna, Austria, December 1970-February 1971. "Oshogbo Artists," Goethe Institute, Lagos, January 13-23, 1971. "Prints," Goethe Institute, Lagos, December 1-7, 1971. "New African Art in Czechoslovakia," N^prstek Museum, Prague, Czechoslavakia, January-April 1972. "Africa Creates '72," Union Carbide Gallery, Union Carbide Building, Community Church and Inter-Church Center, New York, USA; Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Center, Brooklyn, USA, October 1972-April 1973. "Oshogbo Artists," Goethe Institute, Lagos, November 12-18, 1972. "African Art," Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, February- April 1973. Goethe Institute, Lagos, October 3-November 9, 1973. "Contemporary Nigerian Graphics and Textiles," National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, October 14-November 5, 1973. "Modern African Art," Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, USA, October-December 1973. "Aladire and Oshogbo Graphics," African Heritage Center Gallery, Washington, DC, November 1973. "Contemporary Nigerian Fabrics and Prints," Ile-Ife Museum, Ile-Ife Black Humanitarian Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, January 1974. 'Tradition and Change in Yoruba Art," E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, California, USA, March 9-April 14, 1974. "Contemporary Nigerian Art," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, July 25- October 28, 1974. Goethe Institute, Lagos, November 28-30, 1975. 'The Living Tradition," Dimock Gallery, George Washington University, Washington, DC, February 5-28, 1975. "Ife Workshop Prints," Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, USA, February 10-26, 1975. "Modern Graphics by Ten Nigerian Artists," gallery rg, Curacao, Lesser Antilles, February 18-March 15, 1975. "Modern Art from Africa," Jonade Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, March 1975. "Visions of Africa," Afro-American Cultural Center, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, May 12-23, 1975. "Art-Craft from Africa," Maryland Commission on Afro-American and Indian History and Culture, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, November 1975. "Print Workshop Collection," African Heritage Center, North Carolina A & T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, February 1976. "Exhibition of Graphics," University of Lagos Women's Society, Lagos, July 1978. Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1978. "Moderne Kunst aus Afrika," Staatlichen Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany, June 24- August 12, 1979. "In Celebration of Kwanza: Graphics from Ife, Nigeria," Sargent Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, USA, January 8-February 11, 1979. "Moderne Kunst in Afrika," Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1980. "Twenty Years of Oshogbo Art," Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1980. "Contemporary Nigerian Artists: Ten Artists of the Oshogbo Workshop," New World Center Campus Art Gallery, Miami, USA, January 30-February 29, 1980; Metropolitan Miami-Dade Library System South Regional Library, Miami, USA, March 7-28, 1980. "Neue Kunst in Afrika," Mainz, Germany, June 1980; Bayreuth, Germany, July- August 1980; Worgl, Austria, September 1980. "Oshogbo Artists," Oshogbo, July 1980. "Exhibition of Nigerian Contemporary Art," Dakar, Senegal, November 25- December 7, 1980. "De Goden Zijn Niet Dood," Provinciehuis, Zwolle, The Netherlands, Febuary 5-March 5, 1982. "African Art: Past and Present," Ohio State University, Columbus, USA, May 3-31, 1982. [and other venues in Ohio]. "People and Streets: Prints and Drawings," Goethe Institute, Lagos, November 3- 16, 1982. "Modern Art from Nigeria and Papua New Guinea from the Mbari West Collection," Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA, November 6-December 10, 1983. "Contemporary African Art," National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, December 9, 1983-January 31, 1984. "Iwalewa: Afrikanische Kunst Heute," Stadtische Galerie, Regensburg, Germany, June 9-30, 1985. "Oshogbo Art," Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London, July 4-29, 1985; Commonwealth Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland, August 12-31, 1985. "Myth and Image: An Exhibition of Works by 14 Nigerian Artists," Denton, Texas, USA, October 15-November 10, 1985. "Rufus Ogundele: Gemalde, Ademola Onibonokuta: Batiken," Iwalewa-Haus, Bayreuth, Germany, 1987. "Yoruba Art in Life and Thought," African Research Center, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia, 1988. "Art from the African Diaspora: Becoming Visible," Aljira, Newark, New Jersey, USA, February 12-March 13, 1988. "Oshogbo Artists," Heritage International Hotel, Oshogbo, 1988. "Creative Search I," Jiraj Art Gallery, Lagos, June 1988. "Contemporary Arts from Western Nigeria," Zamana Gallery, London, October 27, 1988-January 8, 1989. "Zeitgenossische Nigerianische Kunst," Bonn, Bocholt, and Monchengladbach, Germany, July-October 1989. "1990 Exhibition of Contemporary Yoruba Art," School of Architecture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, April 25-29, 1990. "Recent Works by 11 African Artists Showing Continued Oshogbo Influence," Watermark/Cargo Gallery, Kingston, New York, USA, July 7-29, 1990. "Contemporary Art from Western Nigeria-Oshogbo," Africa Centre, London, June 19-July 13, 1990. "Songs of Power, Songs of Praise: Modern Visions from Haiti, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea," San Jose State University Gallery, San Jose, California, USA, September 11-October 18, 1990. Commissions Murals in the Ladipo Compound, Ile-Ife. Public Collections CarlVan Vechten Gallery of Fine Arts, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Works on paper: "Untitled," "Mask," "Egungun Mask," "Amon and His Wife," "A WarVictim," "My Mother," "A True History. . .," "Noah's Ark I," "Noah's Journey Scene II," "Noah and the Flood Scene," 'The Magician," "Fishing," "An Elephant and His Son," "Shrine," "Curious Creatures," "Railway Station," and "Bird." Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia. Works formerly in the Harmon Foundation Collection. Iwalewa-Haus, Bayreuth, Germany. Oil paintings: "Creature," "Egungun Sacrifice During Festival," "Gods of the Niger," "Head," "Iya Shango at the Shrine," and two untitled; monoprint: "Head";linocut: "Oba Koso"; medium not stated: "Afikpo Mask," "Artist in a Pensive Mood," "Hopefor the Third World," "Mary Slessor," "Mary SlessorII," "Noah's Arch," "Osun Shrine Oshogbo," "Pepeye," and "Statue of a Cub." Mbari Art, Washington, DC. Museum fur Volkerkunde, Frankfurt, Germany. Oil paintings: "Sacred Nigerian Masks," and "Cub." National Gallery of Modern Art, Lagos. Oil paintings: "Boats at Lagoon," "Overhead Bridge that Solves no Problem," "Oath," and "Worshippers' House." Bibliography Black Orpheus (Ibadan) no. 15: 7, 12, 32, 64, August 1964. [illus. only]. Dean, Roy. "Oshogbo Art in London," [and] "Changing Art in Africa," by Margaret Richards. Nigeria Magazine (Lagos) no. 95: 288-292, December 1967. Oyelola, Pat. "Painting Exhibition to Remember," Daily Times (Lagos) July 13, 1978, page 20. Contemporary Nigerian Artists: Ten Artists ofthe Oshogbo Workshop; [exhibition held at New WorldCenter Campus Art Gallery, Miami, January 30-February 29, 1980 and Metropolitan Miami-Dade Library System South Regional Library, Miami, March 7-28, 1980] / text by Roberta Griffin. Miami: Miami-Dade Community College, 1980. [4]pp. Bender, Wolfgang. "Schadelknochen oder schoner Mann," Tendenzen (Munich) 21 (130): 42-47, April-June 1980. illus. Aiyetan, Dayo. "Osogbo Artists in a Rebirth," Daily Sketch (Ibadan) August 30, 1980. Awonuga, Emmanuel Olurotimi. The Art ofRufus Ogundele. BA thesis, Department of Fine Arts, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, June 1981. [unpublished]. Schliwinski, Otto. People and Streets: Prints and Drawings; [exhibition held at the Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1982]. Lagos: Goethe Institute, 1982. [6]pp. illus. "Ademola Onibonokuta's Yoruba Percussion Sound Recording: mit Rufus Ogundele und Tunji Akanmu Beier," Bayreuth, Iwalewa-Haus, 1983. (1 sound recording ca.90 min.). [Accompanying text includes notes on the musicians, instruments and songs; Odu songs(Yoruba folk tunes)-Bata music-Lithophone, Kete music- Sekere (gourd music)-Dundun music-Igbalode]. Modern Artfrom Nigeria and Papua New Guinea from the Mbari West Collection; [exhibition held at the Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz, November 6-December10, 1983] / foreword by Jean Kennedy, [s.l.: s.n.], 1983. [8]pp. illus. Beier, Ulli. "Yoruba-Malerei von heute und Traditionelle Plastik: Rufus Ogundele in der Galerie Schwarz-Weiss in Munchen," Tendenzen (Munich) 25 (146): 16-17, April-June 1984. illus. Lewis, Samelle &Bob Biddle. "Printmaking," International Review ofAfrican American Art (Los Angeles) 6 (4): 3-54, 1985. illus. (somecolor). Pruitt, Sharon Yvette. Perspectives in the Study of Nigerian Kuntu Art:A Traditionalist Style in Contemporary African Visual Expression. PhD dissertation, Ohio State University, 1985. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1987. See pages 525-531 for interview. Creative Search I: Maiden Exhibition of the Jiraj Art Callery. Lagos: Jiraj Art Gallery, Lagos, 1988. 16pp. Reviewed: Tunde Olanipekun, "Jiraj Gallery Debuts with the Titans," The Guardian (Lagos) Jun 25, 1988. Drewal, Margaret Thompson. Yoruba Art in Life and Thought. Bundoora, Victoria, Australia: African Research Institute, La Trobe University, 1988. 88pp. illus. (some color). See pages 79-81 for "Contemporary Yoruba Art." "Director Commends Osogbo Artists," Lagos Weekend (Lagos) September 9, 1988. Highet, Juliet. "Oshogbo Art, An African Renaissance," African Concord (London) 2 (33): 7-10, December 2-8, 1988. illus. [None by Ogundele].