The Nigerian painter John Madu has become the first African artist to exhibit at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
“Van Gogh x John Madu: Paint Your Path,” which opened on May 30th, features 10 new paintings by Madu. These are placed in dialogue with seven works by Vincent van Gogh, selected by Madu, who drew inspiration from the life and work of the Dutch master.
Madu’s paintings combine iconic images from Western art history with vignettes of daily life in West Africa, exploring the relationship between Western visual culture and a globalized world. This theme is particularly pertinent given that Van Gogh’s painting style is among the world’s most recognizable, the artist noted in a statement: “I use this combination to emphasize universal human experiences, while also revealing the unique cultural narratives that co-exist in our globalized world.”
In the exhibition, Madu’s paintings draw directly from the settings and subjects of the Van Gogh works he selected, reframing them in the context of stories from his own life. In No Food for Lazy Man II (2025), for instance, Madu depicts a man throwing a chair at the building portrayed in Van Gogh’s Exterior of a Restaurant in Asnières (1887).
“Revisiting Van Gogh’s works and reinterpreting his visuals in a West African context allows me to create a bridge between local narratives and a global audience,” said Madu, who added that he feels a personal connection to Van Gogh as both a person and an artist: “More than any artist I have paid homage to, I see Van Gogh’s works as a marker for artistic individualism.”
A self-taught artist, Madu has exhibited with galleries including AFRIKARIS in Paris, Unit in London, CFHILL in Stockholm, and Zidoun-Bossuyt in Luxembourg. The exhibition “Van Gogh x John Madu” runs until September 7th.
