Damilare Jamiu Kanyinsola (b. 1994, Lagos Island, Nigeria) is a contemporary Nigerian painter whose practice is rooted in African realism. Growing up in Lagos, he was drawn to the interplay of tradition and modernity in the city’s everyday life. He apprenticed with Lagos-based artist Muyiwa Williams and earned a degree in Arabic language with a focus on African Cultural Studies from the University of Ilorin. He began his professional career in 2016, and in 2024 the NAACP acquired four of his paintings.

Working in oil and acrylic, Kanyinsola paints portraits that foreground the dignity, complexity, and inner lives of his Black subjects. Bold textures, damask patterns, and recurring animal and insect figures draw on Yoruba heritage and African cosmologies, evoking ancestral presence and the spiritual kinship between humans and the natural world. Through these motifs, he connects the lived experience of Lagos with the histories and cultural traditions that link West Africa to Black communities across the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean.

Where Kings are Flowers, 2026
Oil and acrylic on canvas
21 x 17 in