By Damiete Braide
Two years after the death of celebrated artist, Yusuf Grillo, the family of the late icon has unveiled the GrilloArt Museum at his residence in Ikeja, Lagos, amidst pomp, last Saturday.
Mrs. Morayo Anthonio, one of Grillo’s daughters, in her welcome address, said the Yusuf Grillo Museum was part of the family’s efforts to continue their father’s contributions to the development and study of fine arts, even in death.
Born in 1934 at the Brazilian quarters of Lagos, Grillo was a contemporary Nigerian artist celebrated for his innovative and inventive techniques in the different forms of art he practiced. He was a master sculptor, stained glass artist and most widely recognised as a painter of distinct and uncommon style.
He was the founding president of the Society of Nigerian Artists and actively contributed to FESTAC ‘77 along with many other contemporary artists of his era. He also served as the Director of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture in the 1970s.
Grillo is considered to have been one of Nigeria’s outstanding academically trained painters; he emerged to prominence and international recognition in the 1960s and 1970s, while exhibiting a large collection of his early works. He made use of his western art training in many of his paintings, combining western art techniques with traditional Yoruba sculpture characteristics.
His preference for blue colour in natural settings and paintings is sometimes similar to the Adire or resist-dye textiles used in Nigeria. He was Head of the Department of Art and Printing at Yaba College of Technology from the mid1960s till his retirement in 1987. Grillo had his tertiary training in the arts at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria, where he was a member of the Zaria Arts Society, otherwise known as the ‘Zaria Rebels’.
They were famous for their artistic philosophy known as natural synthesis, which promoted Nigerian national identity through a hybrid form combining indigenous artistic styles with Westernised artistic expressions. Subsequently, Grillo studied at other schools in England, Germany and the United States of America. He unified his training in the western representational style focused on Nigeria’s cultural history and artistic imagery.
The Head of Department, Visual Arts, Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, Mr Ayoola Mudashiru, who represented the Director of the Council, LSCAC, Mr Idowu Johnson, said at the event: “I am thrilled with what I am seeing here and it’s a very good effort. I apologise on behalf of the government, and I make a commitment that Lagos State Government will take a positive move to make sure that vision/project is actualised,” he said.
Art collector, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, said the late icon left a lasting impression on Yabatech, adding, “Great people like this have contributed selflessly in bringing up the value of art in Nigeria. Art in terms of our own indigenous culture. Please, join me in making a commitment today: if you cannot come, tell others to come here to enjoy what these children have done to keep on the legacy of the father.”
He enjoined the children to organise residences, fellowships and programmes so that the place could be busy because of the facility. He enjoined them to look for partnerships with private institutions to ensure that the place never perished, “because, at the end of the day, we will all die but corporate entities never die.”
Kolade Osinowo said, “My story is not complete without the mention of Grillo, so I am like an extension of the family. Whatever happens, I am connected with the children. The legacies that he left are too large and nobody can step into those shoes.”
Curator of Yusuf Grillo Museum, Odun Orimolade, said, “We are grateful for this gift into posterity that comes on the wings of Grillo Art. Riding the wave of the 2022 inaugural seminar titled ‘The Man, The Message and The Myth’, GRILLOArt has tirelessly forged on in developing a private Art Museum celebrating the extraordinary life and work of Nigerian legendary visual artist Yusuf Adebayo Cameron Grillo (1934 – 2021). The continued vitality of GRILLOArt and actuality of this museum development is held firmly together by descendants of the icon in the individuals of Morayo Anthonio, Bodunrin Adeyemi, Gboyega Grillo, Oladipo Grillo and Akinkunmi Grillo. They stand together in spearing the pursuit of the spirit of excellence that the artist instilled through his life and practice.
“This museum is not merely a repository of art; it is a sanctuary of inspiration. Every piece within these walls tells a story, not just of the artist’s hand, but of the countless hours of dedication, the relentless pursuit of perfection, and the unwavering commitment to the craft.
“Today, as we unveil the Yusuf Grillo Museum, we celebrate the start of a dream to honour an artist whose legacy continues to shape the artistic landscape.
We all should let this museum stand as a beacon of creativity, a bastion of culture, and a reminder that art is the universal language that binds us all,” she concluded.