Theophilus Madaki is a Nigerian figurative painter born in 1987. He studied art at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, the school linked with the Zaria Art Society tradition and with many of northern Nigeria's best-trained painters. His work centres on portraits and figures, often of women, sometimes with floral elements. Titles such as 'Ajoke', 'Queen Eniola' and 'Mira on Pink Dress' show a focus on named sitters and on fashion and dress. He has entered several group exhibitions and art competitions, and he held his first solo exhibition, 'The Root', in 2021. His paintings are sold internationally through online platforms such as Artsper and 1stDibs, mostly as large canvases of about 80 x 105 cm. He belongs to the wave of young Nigerian portrait painters whose work found a market abroad in the early 2020s.
School or movement: Nigerian contemporary figurative portraiture (ABU Zaria-trained).
