In the beginning, at the turn of the last century, artists in Nigeria looked to the training offered in at London art establishments; they produced figurative works in a very charming way, but the style was western rather than African. Then, gradually, as the country approached independence from Great Britain in 1960, things started changing.

There was a return to the indigenous traditions of African art, a joyful, colourful expressionism which brought a completely new concept to Nigerian artists’ work.

It’s great to see the way abstraction fuses with figurative and decorative art.

The show has assembled a wide range of sculptures, employing different materials.

I’ve been a fan of Ladi Kwali for some time – since a wonderful exhibition of African ceramics at Two Temple Place. She was a fantastic ceramic artist who combined her western training in pottery with Nigerian visual arts traditions; there’s a great selection of her beautifully decorated pots within the show.

It’s so refreshing to see a show which is so rich in colour, variety of texture, materials and sheer exuberance at the joy of creating art. And what a refreshing change to see the work of artists who are not preoccupied with likeness or accurate depiction of places, people or objects but who create personal impressions of what is seen and felt within their world.

Nigerian Modernism is on at Tate Modern until 10th May 2026