Olumide Oresegun Marks 15-Year Journey with Threads of Heritage at Mydrim Gallery

Hyperreality painter Olumide Oresegun is set to present his latest solo exhibition, Threads of Heritage – Cultural Weaving, at Mydrim Gallery on Saturday, July 18.

The show will celebrate a significant milestone in his career, marking 15 years of artistic practice. Over the years, the gallery has hosted four of the artist’s solo exhibitions, beginning with Moment of Reason, his debut solo presentation, and continuing to support his creative evolution.

Widely celebrated for his technically accomplished hyperrealist paintings, Oresegun's latest body of work represents a new direction, examining the intersections of culture, identity, memory, and heritage.

Oresegun explains that the thread in the exhibition functions as both a symbolic bridge and a structural foundation, connecting the striking portraiture for which he is known with richly detailed still-life compositions. He describes cultural identity as a blend of the image people present to the world and the quiet domestic objects that preserve personal and collective histories.

Through portraits concealed behind reflective sunglasses and meticulously rendered copper vessels, lace, and other everyday objects, the artist explores what he calls the materiality of memory. Rather than serving as simple props, these objects become vessels of heritage, carrying stories across generations and linking the living subjects of his paintings to the traditions that shape them.

According to him, the weathered textures of antique objects mirror the resilience and complexity of the human spirit, revealing how history is embedded not only in people but also in the things they treasure. By bringing together contemporary portraiture and traditional still life, he seeks to transform a modern pop-inspired aesthetic into one rooted in cultural continuity, inviting viewers to see every interaction and cherished object as an act of preserving lineage.

Reflecting on the artist’s remarkable journey, Mydrim Gallery describes the exhibition as a celebration of Oresegun’s evolution from a promising realist painter into one of Nigeria’s most acclaimed hyperrealist artists. His work, the gallery notes, continues to challenge, inspire, and captivate audiences while expanding conversations around identity and heritage.

Threads of Heritage – Cultural Weaving will be on view at Mydrim Gallery from July 18 to August 8, offering visitors an opportunity to experience a compelling new body of work that bridges tradition and contemporary artistic expression.

By Udemma Chukwuma