Gbolahan Ayoola and Fresco Gallery Release Third Edition of the BlueWoman Silk Scarf Series

Gbolahan Ayoola, the Lagos-based artist whose practice is rooted in the study of human anthropology and spirituality, examining themes of duality, identity, and memory within contemporary African contexts, has partnered with Fresco Gallery to release the third edition of his BlueWoman silk scarf series.

Between Crown and Current is a double-sided original work printed on 100% silk, in which Ayoola places two distinct images in dialogue. One face carries a composed, frontal figure, the self as it appears when it has chosen how to be seen. The other releases that same presence into a fluid terrain of currents, symbols, and drifting forms, where the parts of a person that exist beneath public composure move freely, without the weight of performance. The two surfaces are not in opposition; they are two truths belonging to the same person: the face offered to the world and the one that exists only in private.

In this way, when the scarf is worn, one side is visible to everyone while the other rests unseen against the skin and the wearer alone knows which is their current reality.

The release marks the third in the BlueWoman series, following two prior editions that established the work’s reputation among collectors. The first reached its audience through word of mouth alone, selling out before it was ever publicly introduced, a trajectory that speaks to the enthusiasm with which Ayoola’s wearable art has been received.

What I find interesting about identity is how much of it is spatial, how we arrange ourselves differently depending on where we are and who is present, not out of dishonesty but out of the complexity of being a full person in a world that rarely makes room for all of it at once. I wanted the work to carry both sides without resolving the distance between them, because that distance is not a problem to be solved. It is simply the condition of being human.

Gbolahan Ayoola

The BlueWoman Series sits within a broader expansion of Ayoola’s practice into new media, running parallel to a painting career spanning more than two decades. His work is held in the collections of the World Bank in Washington D.C., the African Finance Corporation in Nigeria, and the Nigerian National Gallery of Arts and has appeared in productions for Netflix and Amazon Prime. His work has been exhibited at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair.

Between Crown and Current (BlueWoman x Ayoola III) is printed on 100% silk, 14 momme, and measures 35 × 35 inches. Released as a strictly limited edition of 200, each scarf is numbered and finished with a rolled hem; it is priced at ₦150,000 / $120 and available exclusively through Fresco Gallery at thefrescogallery.com.

ABOUT GBOLAHAN AYOOLA

Gbolahan Ayoola (b. 1977) is a visual artist born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. Educated at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, his practice centres on coloniality, identity, and the tension between African heritage and Western cultural influence, a preoccupation rooted in an upbringing shaped by both traditional Yoruba culture and Christian belief. His work has been exhibited across more than two decades of continuous practice, with recent presentations at 1-54 London, the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, and the Dakar Biennial. He is a recipient of the Denis Diderot Grant and has been recognised by the National Gallery of Art of Nigeria, the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria, and the Greek Embassy in Nigeria, among others. For more information, visit gbolahanayoola.com

ABOUT FRESCO GALLERY

Fresco Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with a distinct focus on original prints, editions, and collectibles by African and Black artists. Operating primarily online, with periodic physical exhibitions, the gallery’s mission is to foster new ways to collect and advocate for the representation of prints and editions in contemporary African art. Fresco Gallery is based in Lagos, Nigeria. For more information, visit thefrescogallery.com