SMO Contemporary Art in partnership with Temple Muse is proud to present “SOLE TO SOUL,” a powerful and long-anticipated solo exhibition by renowned Nigerian sculptor Adewuyi Kehinde Ken, professionally known as Adewuyi Kenny. Opening this June, the exhibition marks Kenny’s return to the Nigerian art scene with a stunning body of work that spans from 1993 to 2024. Curated over a decade since his last solo outing, this exhibition is a rare and intimate invitation into the mind, methods, and spiritual essence of a true master.
This retrospective is more than an artistic showcase — it is a profound reflection on the
human experience. With bronze sculptures that are both emotionally raw and technically masterful, Adewuyi Kenny explores themes of suffering, resilience, societal decay, and the silent strength within human fragility. Works such as “Poor Boy” and “The Other Side of Life” cast light on issues like displacement, migration politics, and psychological struggle, grounding each piece in deeply rooted African symbolism and personal spirituality.
The exhibition features life-sized sculptures for the first time in Nigeria, some standing over one and a half meters tall. These towering figures, shaped with exaggerated anatomy and textured patinas, tell stories of human endurance and spiritual journeying — each title a prompt for emotional reflection: “Don’t Lose Hope,” “Why Me,” “Come to My Aid,” and “It’s Not Over Until It’s Over.”
His sculptures carry not only the physical weight of the material but the emotional and spiritual journeys of humanity. The artist’s reverence for process—building kilns from scratch, sourcing found metal, and mastering the lost-wax method—is central to the meaning of his work. Each sculpture is not merely a product, but the culmination of prayer, fire, and transformation.
