Móyòsóré Martins (alias Móyò) is a New York-based Nigerian contemporary artist who has taken the art world by storm. A true Renaissance man, he excels in graphics, product design, and music. Móyò’s paintings are profoundly narrative and embody his personal journey.

Born in 1986 in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised by a Brazilian father and a Nigerian mother from Ekiti State, Móyò developed a sense of mixed cultural independence from his family’s tribal roots. His artistic vision was shaped by his upbringing and travels. Inspired by the streets of London and New York, as well as his college years in Ghana and Ivory Cost—where he studied computer science—his work reflects these experiences while also expressing his Yoruba cultural heritage. A self-taught artist, Móyò discovered his passion for art early in life, inspired by his father’s love for collecting art, figurines, cars, and other objects. He is primarily guided by his internal vision rather than by other artists. For him, his work is spiritual in nature, representing his wishes, dreams, and the path forward. Since migrating to the United States in 2015, his determination has remained unwavering.

Móyò bridges abstract, figurative, and iconographic symbolism. He expresses the beauty in the figure and the depth of its subject and he obsesses with a cartoon-like character that imbues his iconography and that has a deep symbolic meaning. His approach is narrative and realistic in his early works, returning to his childhood memories. The African statue is always present and spiritually meaningful in his work. He is fascinated with contemporary plastic toy statues and collectibles from artists like Kaws, representing everything different in juxtaposition to the traditional Yoruba  figures. A seminal work, “Watchman” resonates deeply; the painting is a study of the Yoruba figure, interpreted by Móyò as a man embracing his destiny. It also nods to his personal experience working as a night watchman in the Bronx—an experience that left a lasting impression.

Móyò expresses the emotions of his characters with deft brushwork, setting them against backgrounds that are layered, manipulated, scratched, and infused with text. He places himself in the canvas in spirit, in name, and even through his birthdate. He scribbles words, mathematical formulas, mantras, and prayers. He visually expresses his internal conversation, which shifts as his world does as a visual biography. He resists being put in a box. His unique use of materials and story is the cord that ties his work together. As his craft and career expand, he looks back, reflecting on his path and where he has come from, both as a person and artistically. Entrenched with personal symbolism, every element of a painting has a purpose and a specific meaning to him, much like a morse code. The eyes symbolize his own spiritual “all-seeing”; the clusters of floating eyeballs convey the feeling of being constantly watched—of being 'seen,' both personally and through his work. The large, slightly aggressive mouth reflects the intensity of being talked about. Etched words serve as a mantra, a way to manifest his vision.

Móyò’s career has taken off since he was discovered in 2020. Over the past four and a half years, demand for his work has steadily increased, driven by his growing collector base and expanding gallery representation. Last fall, Móyò made a strong impression in Europe with two successive, nearly sold-out solo exhibitions in Geneva and Paris. He is one of today’s most collected emerging, contemporary African artists.

Selected Exhibitions:

·   2025

Participation in a solo booth show at Art Basel Paris in October (not yet been confirmed)

An upcoming solo show at Pulpo Gallery, Murnau am Staffelsee, Germany, scheduled in October  

A selection of paintings will be exhibited and later included in a major charity auction organized by Sotheby’s in the south of France this June.

·   2024

“Móyòsóré Martins”, TrafficArts in collaboration with curators Jerome Neutres and Aurore Blanc, Paris, France (Solo Show)

“Through the Light”, Olivier Varenne Art Moderne & Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo Show)

“Arms Around The Child Foundation” Artists in Residency, Accra, Ghana

“Convergence: From Bytes to Brushstrokes”, Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, China (Group Show)

·   2023

“SCOPE Miami Art Show” – Art Fair, Mitochondria Gallery, Miami, USA (Group Show)

“Now, They Know…Móyòsóré Martins”, Galerie Tanit X Teal Contemporary, Beirut, Lebanon (Solo Show)

“Art Shenzhen” – Art Fair, Crossing Art, Shenzhen, China (Group Show)

“Butter” – Art Fair, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, USA (Group Show)

“Portraits in Focus”, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami, USA (Group Show)

“The Artist Journey”, Crossing Art, New York, USA (Solo Show)

“Intimate”, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami, USA (Group Show)

“Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary” – Art Fair, Long-Sharp Gallery, Palm Beach, USA (Group Show)

·   2022

“Art Miami” – Art Fair, Long-Sharp Gallery, Miami, USA (Group Show)

““Butter 2” – Art Fair, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, USA (Group Show)

“The Soul of African Diaspora”, Beverly Hills Art Exchange, San Francisco, USA (Group Show)

“Móyòsóré Martins : Seen”, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, USA (Solo Show)

·   2021

“Songs Without Words: The Art of Music”,  Nassau County Museum, Roslyn, USA (Group Show)

“IRÁNTI (Nostalgia)”, Path Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (Solo Show)

“Art Stays Here”, Long-Sharp Gallery, art rotating program with Conrad Hotel, Indianapolis, USA (Featured Artist)

“Móyòsóré Martins”, TrafficArt, New York, NY (Solo Show)

·   2019

“Holiday Exhibition”, Dacia Gallery, New York, USA (Group Show)

·   2018

Heath Gallery, New York, USA (Group Show)

·   2017

“Radical Resistance to Xenophobia”, Grady Alexis Gallery, New York, USA (Group Show)

Móyò’s work is intentionally raw, incorporating a wide range of materials and featuring rough-cut canvas edges. The paintings are heavily textured with scratches and scribbles and are mud-like paint with elements such as clay, liquid plastic, oil sticks, and thick layers of oil. The backgrounds are layered and deconstructed, evoking a sense of wear and tear. Though there is a repetition of iconography, each painting is unique, containing symbolic patterns and encrypted messages hidden within the composition. These elements invite the viewer into the canvas—into the artist’s mind, imagination, and journey through light—to uncover the wealth of references and continue the conversation on their own terms.