Sunbeam by Oluwafemi Akanmu Explore Mondoir Studio Medium: Charcoal and acrylic on canvas Dimensions: 24 x 36 in Year: 2025 Status: available I feel like there’s something deeper, more endless, and more lasting than the ocean in the way a baby looks when it wakes up in the morning and smiles or laughs because it sees sunlight shining on its crib. Why collect this work?A child’s extended stride cuts diagonally across a dense field of letter-like shapes, turning the contrast between bodily movement and a flat, insistent ground into the work’s central tension. Akanmu states that his practice emphasizes Black dignity, everyday life, and hope. In this work, those aims are pursued through the child’s commanding scale and purposeful motion rather than through a detailed narrative setting.The figure reaches almost from edge to edge. A bright yellow dress forms a broad wedge between dark limbs, while red-and-white sandals punctuate the stride against interlocking turquoise and black marks.Catalogue metadata identifies charcoal and acrylic on canvas. These media can support the distinct visual registers evident here: graduated modelling articulates the face, limbs, and clothing, while repeated block-like shapes compress the surrounding space into pattern.The work is particularly useful for considering how figuration can remain legible within near-abstraction. The ground may suggest fragmented writing or visual noise, yet its repeated curves and angles also intensify the child’s forward momentum. About the ArtistOluwafemi Akanmu Oluwafemi Akanmu is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: painting. Based in Ibadan, NG. Nationality: Nigerian Through my art, I intentionally highlight the richness of African culture and its enduring beauty, with particular emphasis on the dignity and...
