Renowned Nigerian master wood carver Kasali Akangbe Ogun has been buried following his death last week after a brief illness.
He came from a long line of wood carvers from the Yoruba people, and took the tradition from his birthplace of Osogbo in the country's south-west to the global art space.
Akangbe Ogun was famous for his unique artistic style, characterised by lean, elongated faces and dynamic, flowing forms, noted Nigerian art patron Olufemi Akinsanya.
He was one of the leading lights of the New Sacred Art Movement, founded by the late Austrian-Nigerian artist and Yoruba priestess, Susanne Wenger, in the 1960s, to help protect the 75-hectare Osun Forest and its river.
We will continue to plant trees because heritage must not be left naked, Akangbe Ogun told me when I visited him in 2020.
The grove, on the outskirts of Osogbo city, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 for its cultural significance in the cosmology of the Yoruba and as the largest protected high primary forest in the region.
Works from The New Sacred Art Movement are currently on show in the landmark Nigerian Modernism exhibition at Tate Modern.
Kasali Akangbe Ogun was a vital figure within the New Sacred Art Movement, whose work brought spiritual depth to Yoruba devotional practice.
Ogun exhibited widely, including in the New Sacred Art Movement show at Quintessence, Lagos (2009), and had international collaborations throughout his career.
Despite his fame, Ogun lived a simple life, committed to preserving the traditional Yoruba setting and sharing his knowledge with future generations.
His children have learned the wood carving art, and he reflected, What pleases me the most is that my children have learned the art; they have inherited the legacy. The work will live on through my children.
His art remains a testament to a life dedicated to faith, community, and cultural expression.
