Aiyesan Segun

Acclaimed painter Segun Aiyesan (b.18 March, 1971) was born and raised in Benin City, Nigeria. Aiyesan is one of Nigeria’s preeminent visual artists and lives and works in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife (1995).

The multidisciplinary artist recalls himself 'fiddling with drawings and paints as early as four years old'. As a young boy, his favorite hobby was collecting comics and trying to draw the characters. His parents didn’t help develop his talent at any point, so it was particularly difficult for him since he did not get much encouragement. They, on the other hand tried to steer him in a different direction. He loved art. It propelled him to be better at many other things he had to do alongside, since he was free to indulge in it, as long as nothing else suffered. "My folks were glad it kept me busy and around". He never really realized a living could actually be made from art, so his development was actually channeled towards self-fulfillment rather than perpetuating a career direction.

He went on to study Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Nigeria. While there, he kept himself busy making and enjoying art. He inadvertently was preparing himself for a life as a professional artist, because by the time he graduated he was quite proficient and advanced in skills in artistic depiction. He is a self-taught artist who has pursued art as a profession since 1997. He is currently resident and based in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Since 1997, he has practiced his discipline professionally as a self-taught artist, leaving behind his initial career at Chevron where he worked as an oil rig engineer. Aiyesan's works are produced from a persona of hard work, passion, quest, and artistic eloquence. His works with pastels, watercolours, oils, and acrylics to reveal the deeply psychological approach he has to his art and his passionate interest in the life of the mind as well as the world around him. Aiyesan works with pastels, watercolours, oils and acrylics to reveal the deeply psychological approach he has to his art and his passionate interest in the life of the mind as well as the world around him. The artist recently began experimenting with collage, and bringing a sculptural quality to his texturally rich paintings.