"The Black body must be glorified now and forever."
Kayode Ejioye (b. 1985, Ikole-Ekiti, Nigeria) is a Nigerian painter whose work celebrates the strength, elegance and presence of the Black body, particularly the male figure, portrayed in positions of power, hope and beauty and dressed in the language of contemporary fashion. Trained first in publicity graphics as a teenage apprentice in Lagos, he studied Drawing and Painting at the Ultimate Art Gallery and ArtPoint Studio and earned his OND and HND in Art and Industrial Design at Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu. Working in acrylic on canvas, he places the Black body at the centre of visual narratives from which it has long been excluded. His works have been exhibited in Nigeria, Italy and the United States. He lives and works in Lagos.