When art took over Ikoyi last November, the air brimmed with quiet energy. Between November 21 and December 6, 2025, the doors of Lianna Foundation & Gallery (LFG) opened up for SONDER — an exhibition that dared its audience to pause, reflect, and really see.
SONDER came in with weight and purpose. The theme was simple but profound, a reminder that every human life holds layers, stories, struggles and beauty. It called to art lovers, collectors, creators, dreamers and anyone ready to recognise that what we see on the surface rarely tells the full story.
For about two weeks, this gallery in Lagos has become a quiet hub of presence and perception.
A Gallery Rising: LFG’s Growing Role in the Lagos Art Scene
Lianna Foundation & Gallery quietly entered the gallery circuit in early 2025, with a mission to give space and voice to emerging talents often sidelined by mainstream art institutions.
With SONDER, LFG reaffirmed itself as a space where artists band together, build community, and claim visibility for their art by owning the narrative instead of waiting. The gallery’s commitment to inclusion, support, and artistic freedom made it a fitting home for a show centered on empathy and human complexity.
The Artists Behind SONDER
At the heart of this exhibition stood four distinct yet interconnected artistic voices —
Akintomide Aluko, Funke Oladimeji, Ozangeobuoma Prince Orlu, and Tony Jagas. Each bringing a different interpretation of what it means to see and be seen.
Akintomide Aluko, the Exhibition Lead, offered works shaped by deep observation, emotional honesty, and a fascination with human anatomy and movement. His pieces for SONDER explored femininity — the grace, the nurturance, the fragility and strength while confronting societal misconceptions. His representational yet fluid style, rooted in memory and narrative, gave the exhibition its backbone: a reminder that every gesture, every expression carries a story.
Funke Oladimeji, painter and philosopher at heart, approached the human experience through design, harmony, and introspection. Her works invited viewers into quiet contemplation, “It kind of looks like Lagos, “No it doesn’t”type of contemplation. Rooted in her background in Fine Arts and influenced by her training at Universal Studios of Art in Lagos, her pieces carried a visual eloquence that made people pause and breathe.
Ozangeobuoma Prince Orlu, expressionist and storyteller of the body, brought boldness and defiance to the space. His impasto-heavy figures full-bodied, stylized, unapologetically present challenged beauty standards and society’s narrow expectations. Through texture, exaggeration, and vibrant energy, he celebrated self-love, individuality, and radical acceptance.
Tony “Jagas”, the multidisciplinary explorer, merged nostalgia, culture, identity, and abstraction. His “SONDER” series used symbolic animal portraits to confront the stereotypes that divide Nigerians, the whispered judgments, the tribal assumptions, the labels that oversimplify human lives. His works reminded viewers that behind every name, tribe, rumour, or story lies a real person with a real emotional landscape.
Together, these four artists created a conversation about humanity, truth, memory, identity, and the quiet things that shape us.
SONDER Looks Like Art, Conversations & Community
On opening night and throughout the show, art collectors, enthusiasts, fellow artists, and creatives moved through the gallery slowly, deliberately. They were soaking in the pieces and having a good time with friends, artworks in view, drinks in hand combined with delicious bites.
There was no formal speech. Instead, the curator and the artists themselves welcomed guests offering personal stories and context behind works that turned paint and canvas into living, breathing human narratives.
Viewers saw figurative paintings and works that expressed vulnerability, internal battles, joy, struggle, identity, memory, landscapes, hope. The pieces were raw and real and created a sense of shared humanity between the artist and viewer.
People lingered. They studied details. They asked questions. They nodded slowly and sometimes whispered to friends. Some stood quietly for minutes before moving on. Others debated what a painting meant, compared it to their own experiences, or simply appreciated the technique and emotion.
Though there was no official workshop or performance, the atmosphere felt alive: hushed conversations, soft footsteps, reflective silence and a tribute to the power of seeing and being seen.
Walking through the gallery felt less like attending an art show, more like stepping into many lives, each with a story.
The Collective, the Vision, the Grit
SONDER is powered by a group of Lagos-based artists determined to carve their place without waiting for permission. The lead (or “Exhibition Lead,” as they call it) is visual artist Akintomide Aluko.
They and the collective behind SONDER grew tired of gatekeepers deciding whose voice matters. They wanted a space where emerging talent, honest stories, and real craft could stand side-by-side with more established names. Their motto? Passion and grit. Their guiding principle? If you want something done rightly, do it yourself.
With SONDER, they raised a flag: art belongs to creators first not to gatekeepers.
SONDER was curated by David Oluwatoyin.
Why SONDER Matters
In a city bursting with energy, traffic, noise, ambition, chaos and the good old Detty December, SONDER was quiet. It asked people to slow down. To reflect. To empathize. That’s important.
It showed that galleries a group of committed creators with vision, trust in each other, and a shared desire can build something meaningful.
For collectors and art lovers, SONDER offered raw, picturesque, authentic works. For creators, it offered validation, community, exposure. For Lagos, it added another layer to its art story and a great opening to Detty December.
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