Drift off to sleep in the dreamy realm of Sola Olulode’s paintings

Born, raised, and based in South London, Sola Olulode is a British-Nigerian artist that stands out with her vibrant colors and special palette. Exhibited in numerous spaces such as the Lisson Gallery in London and Carl Freedman in Margate, she recently had her first exhibition outside of the UK during the VOLTA Basel fair in September 2021.

A University of Brighton graduate, where she pursued a BA in Painting, Sola Olulode has delivered talks at London College of Communication and Wimbledon College of Art. She also facilitates Crits for artists of color at Lewisham Arthouse in London, where art can be reviewed and critiqued in a safe environment. Very active in the queer BIPOC scene of the city, where she draws a lot of her inspiration, Sola Olulode's paintings are safe heaven of black womxn love.

Using primarily blue, yellow, and green, color is a very important aspect of Olulode’s work, which she uses to reflect intense emotions. She sometimes even dyes her hair the color of her current paint of choice.

Some of those vibrant colors are created with processes inspired by her research into Yorubean art forms from Southwestern Nigeria. She uses batik, wax, ink, pastel, oil, and impasto, giving a special depth yet lightness to her brush of paint.

She fleshes out small scenes, intimate sets of love, where Black womxn are the main subjects and their love is celebrated. Using pictures of her close ones or reinventing frames of internet images as a base for her silhouettes, Olulode subverts the white and heteronormative gaze and honors black queer love. Her paintings are a space of peace, a space of rest, and a space of joy.