Aliyu Aminu Ahmed Abstract Artist from Nigeria

Aliyu Aminu Ahmed is an abstract artist and art advisor, and the pioneer of the Art Jollof style. A Professional Member of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) (PTN/2025/BOR/024), and an Honorary Fellow of the Society. His work explores acrylic and mixed media on canvas and paper, using texture paste and natural or found materials

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Projects

Ahmed describes this approach as “Art Jollof”: a philosophy that celebrates freedom, originality, and expressive abundance. Like its culinary namesake, Art Jollof embraces richness and diversity, layering color, texture, and material into compositions that are visually generous and emotionally resonant. His abstraction resists minimalist restraint, proposing instead an open, evolving process shaped by culture, belief, and everyday life.

An abstract artist, curator, and cultural advocate, Ahmed’s practice explores lived experience, collective memory, and emotional depth through bold color relationships and textured surfaces. Based in Abuja, Nigeria, he is widely recognized for articulating Art Jollof as both a visual language and a conceptual stance, one that values intuition, material richness, and expressive honesty as pathways to meaning.

Art Jollof

Art Jollof is an abstract expressionist painting style that translates lived experience into vibrant colors, textures, expressive patterns and different strokes. Rejecting restraint and minimalism, the work embraces layered abstraction that appears chaotic yet resolves into balance and harmony. Influenced by cultural and religious traditions that discourage figurative imagery, the art style relies on color, texture, and material to convey meaning. Within contemporary abstraction, Art Jollof positions painting as an open, evolving process shaped by culture, belief, and everyday life.

Aliyu Aminu Ahmed Journey Into Art

Born in Yola, within Nigeria’s historic Adamawa Emirate, Ahmed’s creative journey began with poetry in the 1990s before expanding into visual art later in life. Ahmed describes himself as a “late art bloomer”, his transition to painting in his late forties brought a distinctive maturity to his work, informed by decades of professional engagement in development service focused on monitoring and evaluation and community building across Nigeria and other African countries. These experiences surface in recurring themes such as resilience, leadership, environmental consciousness, unity, and social responsibility.

In 2024, Ahmed founded Garga Art Galleries Limited, with spaces in Zaria and Yola, as a platform for contemporary abstraction and a support structure for emerging and underrepresented artists, particularly women and young creatives from Northern Nigeria.

Through painting, curatorial practice, and critical writing, Aliyu Aminu Ahmed advances abstraction not merely as an aesthetic pursuit, but as a tool for reflection, connection, and empowerment. His work contributes to the expanding discourse on contemporary African abstraction, rooted in place, experience, and the layered complexity of human life.

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Experience Matters

Demonstrating advanced mastery in abstract painting, with a focus on mixed media techniques, texture layering, and expressive color theory.

Applying strong expertise in exhibition curation, gallery operations, and the strategic management of art spaces.

Leading artistic mentorship initiatives, with a passion for community engagement, creative empowerment, and capacity building for emerging and underrepresented artists

Work

Memberships & Recognition

Diamonds in the Rough: Miniature Art Exhibition, Department of Fine Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (2025); The Largest Zanna Bukar Cap, KACCIMA Talent Show, Kano Chamber of Commerce (2025); exhibitions at Garga Art Galleries and community-based cultural spaces.

Enhancing Art Value through Provenance and Documentation, Department of Fine Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (2025); ongoing mentorship sessions and community discussions on artistic practice and cultural sustainability.

Enhancing Art Value through Provenance and Documentation (2025); The Art of Selling Art: From Studio to Marketplace (2024); conference presentations at the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) CONADEV Conference 2025 on art, community development, provenance, and cultural policy.

Professional Member, Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA); Honorary Fellow, Society of Nigerian Artists