Asiru Olatunde (1918–1993) was a Nigerian artist, blacksmith, and painter, often regarded as one of the prominent painters from Osogbo.[1] He was one of a small group of artists who were part of a creative community known as the Oshogbo School of art.[2] His illustrations were centered around Yoruba mythology as well as Biblical stories, combined with local folklore
| Death Date: | 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Osogbo, Nigeria |
Asiru Olatunde was born into a family of blacksmiths but Illness[3] forced him to give up as a blacksmith in the 1960s, He temporarily made jewelry to sell in the market, before transitioning into painting on the advice of Uilli Beier and Suzanne Wenger in 1961. He adopted a technique known as repousse metalwork, which usually involve the shaping of copper, aluminum and iron to derive his artwork,[4] he created animal figurines out of recycled copper and aluminum.
His exhibition has been showcased at IMF headquarters, as well as Smithsonian Institution.[5]
He died in 1993.