SATURDAY, August 23, stakeholders in the arts industry converged on Yusuf Grillo Art Museum, Ikeja, Lagos, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the late art icon, Yusuf Grillo’s passing.

The event, an art show, entitled, Lineage of Masters, celebrated his legacy and contributions to art in Nigeria. The Yusuf Grillo Museum serves as a centre for acquiring knowledge about his works and arts.

Put together by Grillo Arts Limited, the show, which features 13 artists influenced by Yusuf Grillo, holds from August 23 to September 13, 2025. The artists showing at the facility include: Segun Adejumo, Sam Ebohon, Edosa Oguigo, Orimolade Odun, Lara Ige-Jacks, Sam Ovraiti, Ato Arinze, Deola Balogun, Kunle Adeyemi, Ben Nwosa, Duke Asidere, Lekan Onabanjo and Kehinde Sanwo.

The not-for-sale art exhibition features art pieces unveil the artistic journey and ingenuity of these masters. The pieces include drawings, sculptures, paintings, and mixed media works.

Each section of the museum displayed art pieces that are pleasing to the eye and also carried messages. Works such as Dignity of Labour (1990) by Sanwo, Black Tutu (1988) by Ovraiti, Particles of Word (2023) by Odun, and As I Am (2017) by Adejumo, among others, adorn the walls of the museum, while sculptures such as It Takes Two To Tango (2024) by Arinze and Grandma in connection with Gen-Z (2023) by Balogun sit atop pedestals.

Arinze’s It Takes Two to Tango and Tree with a Fallen Branch carry pieces of his journey in life. The paintings of Ige-Jacks, Sanwo, Oguigo and Ovraiti, among others, embody creative artistry. While Adejumo’s drawing, Balogun’s sculptures and Adeyemi’s mixed media display uniqueness in their ingenuity.

Speaking with the masters, they highlighted Grillo’s impact on their career. Balogun stated that though he never got to learn from Grillo as a student at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), he had opportunity to learn from the late artist by interacting with him.

Ovraiti mentioned that he first encountered Grillo through his work. “It was very arresting to me, and it showed that the artist who did this must have gone through years of practice,” he said.

Speaking on the lessons that can be learned from Grillo, Ovraiti said, “he was a good administrator who was calm and quiet. So, artists should be calm. I don’t think he was a noisy person. But the results that came out of him spoke for him and affected people.”

For Sanwo, the exhibition’s curator, said Grillo was known for his integrity. “He influenced how much that we’ve taken from the way he lived his life and the way he practiced his art.”

He further stated that Grillo gave principles that guided his students when they created artwork. “I remember that he gave us these four principles before you consider to create an artwork. He taught us to consider the why. Why are you doing the work? What is the work about… Why, What, When, and Where?”

Executive Director of Grillo Arts, Morayo Anthonio, who is also Grillo’s first daughter, said her father’s works meant a lot to her. She stated that she was proud of her father’s achievements in art. “I am proud of what he’s been able to do as an artist, even though I am not an artist. I’m an art lover, and his work means the world to me.”

She implored aspiring artists to be creative and versatile. “He drove himself to being not just a master of one thing, but a master of so many things. He was a scholar, he was a sculptor, he was a stained glass artist, he was a painter and he was a lot of things,” she revealed.