Twins Seven-Seven
Painter, Sculptor, Nigeria
Twins Seven-Seven
Painter, Sculptor, Nigeria
Solo Exhibitions

  • Third Anniversary Celebration of Mbari Mbayo, Oshogbo, March 13-14, 1965.
  • Goethe Institute, Lagos, May 13-22, 1970.
  • "The Paintings of Twins Seven-Seven," USIS, lbadan, July 10-14,1970. Goethe Institute, Lagos, November 5-12,1971.
  • Merton D. Simpson Gallery, New York, USA, 1972.
  • Goethe Institute, Lagos, February 21-March 3, 1973.
  • National Museum, Lagos, 1974.
  • Goethe Institute, Lagos, March 20-29, 1974.
  • Goethe Institute, Lagos, March 14-23, 1975.
  • Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1977.
  • "Paintings & Drawings," Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos, February 3-16, 1990.

Group Exhibitions

  • "Moderne Kunst aus Oshogbo," Neue Münchner Galerie, Munich, Germany, 1965; Traverse Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1967.
  • "Contemporary African Art," Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, March 17- April 18, 1967.
  • Goethe Institute, Lagos, December 13-22, 1967.
  • "Contemporary Nigerian Art: Exhibition for Ori-Olokun Opening," Ori-Olokun Cultural Centre, Ile-Ife, June, 1968.
  • "Contemporary African Art," Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, USA, March 13-May 4, 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].
  • "Oshogbo Artists," Goethe Institute, Lagos, March 19-26, 1969.
  • "Contemporary African Art," Camden Arts Centre, London, August-September 1969.
  • "African Painting at the BBC," Bush House, London, 1970.
  • "Oeuvres Africaines Nouvelles," Musée de I'Homme, Paris, France, February 13- April 13, 1970.
  • "Moderne Malerei in Afrika," Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna, Austria, December 1970-February 1971.
  • Second Indian Triennial, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India, 1971. "Oshogbo Artists," Goethe Institute, Lagos, January 13-23, 1971.
  • "Ten Artists from Nigeria," Arts Club of Washington, DC, March 21-April 9, 1971. Eighteenth Festival of the Arts, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia, USA, April 18-24, 1971.
  • "Contemporary Tapestries, Brass Castings and Graphics from Nigeria," The Egg and the Eye, Los Angeles, California, USA, May 1971.
  • "New African Art in Czechoslovakia," Náprstek Museum, Prague, Czechoslovakia, January-April 1972.
  • "Contemporary Nigerian Art," Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, USA, May 1972.
  • "Africa Creates '72," Union Carbide Gallery, Union Carbide Building, New York, USA; Community Church and Inter-Church Center, New York, USA; Bedford- Stuyvesant Restoration Center, Brooklyn, -New York, USA, October 1972-Aprd 1973.
  • "Oshogbo Artists," Goethe Institute, Lagos, November 12-18, 1972.
  • "African Art," Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, February- April 1973.
  • "Modern African Art," Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, USA, October-December 1973.
  • "Contemporary Nigerian Graphics and Textiles," National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, October 14-November 5, 1973.
  • "Contemporary African Art," Museum of African Art, Washington, DC, February 23-March 24, 1974.
  • "Tradition and Change in Yoruba Art," E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, California, USA, March 9-April 14, 1974.
  • "Graphics from Five Countries," Southern University in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, March 14-April 11, 1974.
  • "Art in Africa Today," Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA, April 20- November 3, 1974.
  • "African Art Today: Four Major Artists," African-American Institute, New York, USA, May 14-August 31, 1974.
  • "African Prints: An Exhibition of Contemporary African Art," Kresge Art Gallery, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA, June 15-July 7, 1974.
  • "Contemporary Nigerian Art," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, July 25- September 1, 1974.
  • Afro-American Historical & Cultural Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1975.
  • "The Faces of Africa," Union Gallery, San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA, January 27-February 13, 1975.
  • "Modern Graphics by Ten Nigerian Artists," gallery rg, Curaçao, Lesser Antilles, February 18-March 15, 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 & Indian History & Culture, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, November 1975.
  • "Two African Artists: Amir I. M. Nour and Twins Seven-Seven," Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, April 15-May 25, 1976.
  • FESTAC '77, Lagos, 1977.
  • "African Contemporary Art, "' Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, April 30-july 31, 1977.
  • "National Art Exhibition," National Theatre, Lagos, September 30-October 7,1978.
  • "Moderne Kunst aus Afrika," Staatlichen Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany, June 24-August 12, 1979.
  • "Twenty Years of Oshogbo Art," Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1980.
  • "Moderne Kunst in Afrika," Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1980.
  • "Contemporary Nigerian Artists: Ten Artists of the Oshogbo Workshops," 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.
  • "Oshogbo Artists," Oshogbo, July 1980.
  • "Neue Kunst in Afrika," Mainz, Germany, June 1980; Bayreuth, Germany, July- August 1980; Wörgl, Austria, September 1980.
  • "National Art Exhibition," National Theatre, Lagos, September 25-October 1, 1980
  • "Twenty Years of Oshogbo Art," Goethe Institute, Lagos, 1981.
  • "De Goden Zijn Niet Dood," Provinciehuis, Zwolle, The Netherlands, February 5-March 5, 1982.
  • "Nigerianische Kunst-Ausstellung," Nigerian Cultural Centre, Bonn, Germany, March 18-April 1, 1982; Ingleheim and Berlin, Germany, 1982.
  • "Ausstellung Nigerianische Kunst der Gegenwart," Bonn, Germany, August 9-18, 1982.
  • "Oshogbo Arts," Elf House, Lagos, May 5-8, 1983.
  • "Contemporary African Art," National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, December 9, 1983-january 31, 1984.
  • "Evolution in Nigerian Art," Lagos, 1984.
  • "Senegal bis Sambia: Neue Kunst aus Afrika," Bayreuth, Germany, 1985.
  • "lwalewa: Afrikanische Kunst Heute," Städtische 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.
  • "Silver jubilee National Art Exhibition," National Theatre, Lagos; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Lugard Hall, Kaduna, September 26-October 1, 1985.
  • "Myth and Image. An Exhibition of Works by 14 Nigerian Artists," Denton, Texas, USA, October 15-November 10, 1985.
  • Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos, June 1987.
  • "Oshogbo Artists," Heritage International Hotel, Oshogbo, 1988.
  • "Art from the African Diaspora: Becoming Visible," Aljira, Newark, New Jersey, USA, February 12-lvlarch 13, 1988.
  • "Uhuru: African and American Art Against Apartheid," City Without Walls Gallery, Newark, New Jersey, USA, February 17-March 31, 1988.
  • "Art by Metamorphosis: Selections of African Art from the Spelman College Collection," Department of Art, Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, November 3-December 18, 1988.
  • Third Biennial Exhibition, Centro Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba, July 1989.
  • "Influences: Contemporary African and African-American Art," Hodson Gallery, Tatem Arts Center, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland, USA, February 1-March 1, 1989.
  • "Magiciens de la Terre," Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris, France, May 18-August 14,1989.
  • "Zeitgenössische Nigerianische Kunst," Bonn, Bocholt and Mönchengladbach, Germany, July-October 1989.
  • "West Africa: Powerful Patterns," Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas, USA, October 7, 1989-january 31, 1990.
  • "Songs of Power, Songs of Praise: Modem Visions from Haiti, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea," San Jose State University Gallery, San Jose, California, USA, September 11-October 18, 1990.
  • "Images of the Nigerian Nation," National Theatre, Lagos, September 29-October 13,1990.

Public Collections

  • Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas, USA.
  • Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia, USA. Works formerly in the Harmon Foundation Collection.
  • lwalewa-Haus, Bayreuth, Germanv. Engravings: "A Nigerian Princess in Cultural Shock in NY," "Creative Sketches in God's Diary," "Dream of a Tired Hunter," "In the Palm of an Architect," "The Anti-Bird Ghost," "The Beast in Spider's Bush," 'The Ghost and the Dream Fisherman," "The Goddess of Fraternity," "The Hunter and the Angry Father of Beasts," and "The Tortoise of the Forbidden Eggs"; painting: "Hunter with Family Trouble"; pen and gouache paintings: "Devil's Dog" [two, same title] and "The Magical Figure in the Tribe of the Anti-Bird Ghost"; pen, colored pencil: "The Beautiful Lady and the Fullbodied Man Reduced to Head"; pen and ink drawing: "Flash-Eyed Mother"; no media indicated: "Lively Ghost in the Spider's Bush" and "Three Headed Anti-Bird Ghost and his Poisonous Snake.'
  • Mbari Art, Washington, DC.
  • Musée de I'Homme, Paris, France.
  • Museum fiir Völkerkunde, Frankfurt, Germany. Etchings: "Dream of a Tired Hunter," "In God's Diary," "The Ghost and the Fisherman," "The Goddess of Fraternity," "The Tortoise and the Forbidden Eggs," and "The Father of Beasts in Spider Bush"; pIywood pictures: "A Bird with Strange Five Heads," "Shape in the Moon," "The Lost Mask of Africa," and "Dongo"; framed textiles: "Ritulist [sic] in Festively [sic] Mood, Dancing the Yam Festival Masquerade," "The Village Chief and his Beloved Blue Dane-Gun," and one untitled; framed batiks: two untitled; drawing: "Lagos in the Hand of Architect"; pen and ink on textile: "The Monkey with a Spiritual Lost and Found Drum"; watercolor with chinese ink: "Creative Shapes in the Mind of a Creative Child"; print: "The Dream Of a Tired Elephant."
  • Museum für Völkerkunde, Hamburg, Germany. Painting: "308 Pictures from the Grand Plan of Creation."
  • Museum of Man, Ottawa, Canada.
  • Museum of Modem Art, New York, USA.
  • Museum voor Volkenkunde, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • National Gallery of Modem Art, Lagos. Oil paintings: "Ritual Initiation," "Masked Hunters Captured Father of Beasts," "Transportation in the 40's," and "Argungun Fishing Festival."
  • National Museum, Lagos. Paintings: "The Ant Bird" and "Man with a Bell." National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC. Polychrome on plywood: "The Lazy Hunters and the Poisonous Wrestlers, Lizard, Ghost and 'The Cobra'."
  • Organization of African Unity, Headquarters Building, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Oil on board: 'Amos Tutuola's Head in a Pitcher on Top of a Coconut Tree," 1965 and "Esu-Odara's Giant Domestic Animals Shade on the Wood," 1967; ink, chalk and gouache on board: "Queen Odara" and "Village Scene," 1966.
  • Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
  • University of California, African Studies Center Los Angeles, USA.
  • University of Ibadan, Institute of African Studies, lbadan. Painting: "Palmwine Tapper."

Bibliography

  • Third Anniversary Celebration of Mbari Mbayo Oshogbo; (program, March 13-14, 1965]. Oshogbo: Mbari Mbayo, 1965. [folder]. illus. 2pp.
  • Beier, Ulli. "Seven Seven," Black Orpheus (lbadan) no. 22: 45-48, August 1967. Illus.
  • Duerden, Dennis. "The London Exhibition of Contemporary African Art 1967," African Arts (Los Angeles) 1 (1): 27-29, 67, autumn 1967. illus. (color).
  • Dean, Roy. "Oshogbo Art in London," [and] Margaret Richards, "Changing Art of Africa," Nigeria Magazine (Lagos) no. 95: 288-292, December 1967. illus.
  • "London Art Festival," African Arts (Los Angeles) 3 (3): 20-25, spring 1970.
  • The Paintings of Twins Seven-Seven; [exhibition held at the USIS Auditorium, Cocoa House, lbadan, July 10-14, 1970. Ibadan: s.n., 1970] 4pp. illus.
  • Armstrong, Robert Plant. "Aesthetic Continuity in Two Yoruba Works," African Arts (Los Angeles) 4 (3): 40-43, 68-70, spring 1971. illus. (color).
  • Povey, John. "First Word," African Arts (Los Angeles) 5 (3): 1, 5, 7, spring 1972. Mundy-Castle, A. C. & Vicky Mundy-Castle. "Twins Seven Seven," African Arts (Los Angeles) 6 (1): 8-13, autumn 1972. illus. (some color).
  • Devgon, Urmila. "Haystack," Topic (Washington, DC) no. 89: 5-10, [1974?]. illus.
  • African Art Today: Four Major Artists; [exhibition held at the African-American Institute, New York, USA, May 14-August 31, 1974). New York: African- American Institute, 1974. 13pp. illus. [Lists ten private collectors on pages 12- 13]. Reviewed: "African Art Today: Four Major Artists," African Arts (Los Angeles) 8 (1): 61-62, autumn 1974.
  • Newman, Thelma. Contemporary African Arts and Crafts. New York: Crown Publishers, 1974. 306pp. illus. See page 20 for illustration.
  • Wahlman, Maude. Contemporary African Arts. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1974. 124pp. illus. (color) only, page 104].
  • Awoonor, Kofi. "Contemporary Art Forms," pp. 337-346. In the author's The Breast of the Earth: A Survey of the History, Culture and Literature of Africa South of the Sahara, New York, NOK, 1975.
  • Mundus Artitim: A Journal of International Literature and the Arts (Richardson, TX) 9 (2) 1976. illus. [Special issue: Selection of African Writers and Artists]. See pages 22- 23 for illustrations.
  • Hersey, Irwin. "Two African Artists: Amir I. M. Nour and Twins Seven Seven," [review of exhibition held at the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, April 15-May 25, 1976]. African Arts (Los Angeles) 10 (1): 82, October 1976.
  • Beier, Georgina. Outsider Art in the Third World. Port Moresby: Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, 1977. 14pp., 6 plates. illus. (Discussion paper, 23.)
  • Udechukwu, Obiora. Folklore and Fantasy in Contemporary Nigerian Art: A Study of Uche Okeke, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Twins Seven-Seven. MA thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1977. 107 leaves, 49 leaves of plates, illus. [unpublished; copy available in the National Museum of African Art Library].
  • Contemporary Nigerian Artists: Ten Artists of the Oshogbo Workshop; [exhibition held at New World Center Campus Art Gallery, Miami, USA, January 30-February 29, 1980, and Metropolitan Miami-Dade Library System South Regional Library, Miami, USA, March 7-28, 1980] / text by Roberta Griffin. Miami: Miami-Dade Community College, 1980. [4]pp.
  • Bender,.Wolfgang. "Schadelknochen Oder schöner Man," Tendenzen (Munich) 21 (130): 42-47, April-June 1980. illus.
  • Aiyetan, Davo. "Osogbo Artists in a Rebirth," Daily Sketch (lbadan) August 30, 1980.
  • The Permanent Collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem, vol. 1. New York: Studio Museum in Harlem, c1982. illus.
  • Ojo, Albert 0. "The Contributions of Contemporary Artists in Nigerian Cultures," pp. 87-108. In the author's The Role of Art in Promoting Cultural Heritage and Art Education in Nigeria: A Pedagogical Assemblage, PhD dissertation, Columbia University, 1984, Ann Arbor, University Microfilms International, 1985. illus., bibliog.
  • Beier, Ulli. "lwalewa: Ein Expgriment in Beyreuth," Tendenzen (Munich) 25 (146): 5- 11, April-June 1984.
  • Bender, Wolfgang. Katalog Zur Ausstellung Senegal bis Sambia: Neue Kunst aus Afrika. Bayreuth: Eigenverlag, 1985. 27pp.
  • Mawudoko, David. "Artists of Oshogbo," [review of "Oshogbo Art Exhibition" held at the Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London, 19851. Concord Weekly (Lagos) August 1, 1985, page 5. illus.
  • Commemorative Catalogue for the Eighth Summit of Non-Aligned States, National Gallery of Zimbabwe Annual Exhibitions. Harare: National Gallery of Zimbabwe, 1986. 80pp. Illus., port. See page 20.
  • Beier, Ulli. "Chief Twins Seven-Seven Art," Culturen (Amsterdam) I: 12-18, 1987. illus. (color).
  • LaDuke, Betty. "Nike Twins Seven Seven: Nigerian Batik Artist," Sage (Atlanta) 4 (1): 61-64, spring 1987. [Includes information about Twins Seven-Seven].
  • Broszinskv-Schwabe, Edith. Kultur in Schwarzafrika. Cologne: Pahl-Rugenstein, 1988. [illus. (color) only, page 308].
  • Scott, Victoria & Victor Davson. Uhuru: African and American Art Against Apartheid. [Newark, NJ]: City Without Walls, [1988] [12]pp. illus. [None by,Twins].
  • "Director Cornmends 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 Twins].
  • Beier, Ulli. "Chief Councillor Twins Seven-Seven: A Seamless Yoruba Personality," pp. 5-40. In: Three Yoruba Artists: Twins Seven-Seven, Ademola Onibonokuta, Muraina Oyelami, Bayreuth, Bayreuth University, 1988. (Bayreuth African Studies Series, 12). Reviewed: Olu Oguibe, "To Cast a Radiant Fog," West Africa (London) no. 3730: 229, February 13-19, 1989.
  • Fiofori, Tam. "Twins' Art and Dance," West Africa (London) no. 3689: 738, April 25, 1988. illus.
  • Tercera Bienal de La Habana '89 Catalogo; [exhibition held at Centro Wifredo Lam, Havana, 19891. La Habana, Cuba: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1989. 367pp. See page 193 for illustration.
  • Influences: Contemporary African and African-American Art; [exhibition held at the Hodson Gallery, Tatem Arts Center, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland, February 1-March 1, 1989] / introduction by Winnie Owens-Hart. Frederick, MD: Hood College, 1989. [unpaged]. illus.
  • Magiciens de la Terre; [exhibition held at the Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris, May 18-August 14, 19891. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1989. 271pp. illus. (color). See pages 226-227 for illustrations.
  • Tombini, Gabriele. "Tradition and Innovation in the Arts," AgipReview International Edition (Rome) no. 7: 38-43, February 1990. illus. (color).
  • Paintings & Drawings by Twins Seven-Seven; [exhibition held at the Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos, February 3-16, 19901. Lagos: Italian Cultural Institute, 1990. 20pp. illus. Reviewed: Chinwe Uwatse, "The Art and Its Man," The Guardian (Lagos) February 25, 1990, page B7.
  • Soppelsa, Robert T. "West Africa: Powerful Patterns,' Kauffman Museum, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas, October 7, 1989-January 31, 1990, [review of an exhibition]. African Arts (Los Angeles) 23 (4): 83, October 1990. illus. [None by Twins].
these pages submitted to africancraft.com by Mbari Art, Apr. 2000 -- last updated, May. 2023