NewsRenowned Modernist Artist, Prof. Yusuf Grillo, Is Dead

Renowned Modernist Artist, Prof. Yusuf Grillo, Is Dead

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August 23, (THEWILL) – Renowned modernist artists, Prof. Yusuf Grillo, is dead.

He was 86.

A statement issued on Monday by his family, said Grillo died after a brief illness at the Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos.

Born in December 1934 at the Brazilian Quarters in Lagos, Grillo attended Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, where he received a Diploma in Fine Arts and a Post-graduate Diploma in education.

In 1966, he left Zaria to study at the Cambridge University and later travelled to Germany and the United States of America.

He would later become the founding President of the Society of Nigerian Artists.

Grillo had a prolific career which shaped the discourse of contemporary art in Nigeria

As a member of the Zaria Arts Society, otherwise known as the ‘Zaria Rebels’, Grillo blended his training in the Western-representational style with a focus on Nigeria’s cultural history.

He is renowned for the specific use of the color blue in his paintings, a reference to adire and resist-dye textiles used in Nigeria.

A master of his craft, some of his iconic works include the stain glass drawings in churches such as Dominic Catholic Church and All Saints Anglican Church, Yaba.

He engraved his marks deeply on the academic scene serving as the Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Yaba College of Technology for about 25 years.

Grillo’s works are deeply influenced by the characteristics of traditional Yoruba philosophy and sculpture.

He would be buried later on Monday at the Atan Cemetery, Yaba, Lagos.

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