ALIMI ADEWALE: FIGURING PRESENCE
Pearl Lam, Shanghai is delighted to present Figuring Presence, the first solo exhibition in China of the Nigerian artist Alimi Adewale.
March 19 – June 30, 2026
Bringing together emblematic works of recent date, this exhibition curated by Maria Rus Bojan describes a space of energy and visual complexity. The artist explores the intersection between ancestral African symbolism and iconography of the present, fostering a conceptual articulation that is both contemporary and universal.
Figuring Presence traces recurring subjects, privileging new readings of the rich influences contained in Adewale’s oeuvre, while emphasising the artist’s symbolic return to the originary “language of beauty” rooted in ancient African traditions.
Prioritising the depiction of spiritual and human essences over their literal realism, Adewale’s figurative expression is just a pretext to build a transcendent symbolic imagery that fuses aesthetical categories, stylistic references, and media. The artist conflates African aesthetics with the emotional intensity of contrasting colour tones and figural distortion, translating his perceived reality into essentialised sculptural forms and gestural paintings.
Like in the ancient African tradition, Adewale blurs the boundary between painting and sculpture, surface and structure, using found objects, carpets and different organic materials to create rich, textured narratives.
Layering is therefore central to his work, both in the materiality of his paintings and sculptures and in his artistic process, which combines historical references and diverse influences into structured forms that are both physically present and visually rich.
By addressing the need to “rescue” those figurative elements of ancestral African symbolism, Adewale reaffirms his commitment to grounding his work in a holistic framework that is deeply spiritual, though not religious. He approaches painting and sculpture as conceptual and symbolic tools for expressing his own cultural, spiritual, and social values.
In terms of selected works, a distinctive material dimension runs through the exhibition: several works are painted on kilim rugs, whose woven patterns and earthy textures become active participants in each composition. The geometric motifs of the rugs resonate with the ancestral rhythms of the paintings, creating a layered dialogue between surface, heritage, and gesture.