Atinuke Adeleke

M.F.A, 2023, Studio Art: Metalsmithing and Jewelry

Instagram: Zuri Perle Jewelry
Instagram: Atinuke Osibogun-Adeleke
Website: Atinuke Adeleke

"I see my practice as that of a storyteller who speaks to the hybridization of thoughts, ideas and cultures in a world that continually seeks to create and maintain borders and boundaries."

Atinuke Osibogun-Adeleke is an interdisciplinary artist, an M.F.A. Graduate of the University of North Texas, and the owner and lead designer of the jewelry brand Zuri Perle.

She spent her childhood and college years in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. After receiving an undergraduate law degree, she moved to England to pursue a master's in international and commercial law. Shortly thereafter, she returned to Nigeria and spent time in Abuja and Lagos before moving to the United States in 2009.

Her artistic practice centers around personal history, connection and identity, a reflection on her experience as a Nigerian who has lived on three continents thus far and how those experiences have led to the deconstruction, reassembly, and hybridization of her identity. Her current work includes sculpture and fiber pieces that incorporate the traditional culture and practices of the place she once called home — Nigeria, western traditional woodworking techniques and modern processes such as CAD, 3D printing, and CNC routing.

Atinuke's work has been in exhibitions at notable institutions and galleries, such as the African American Museum in Dallas, Craighead Green Gallery in Dallas, Touchstone Gallery in Washington D.C, Atlantic Gallery in New York City, and Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville, N.C.

Her accessories have graced runways at New York Fashion Week and Kansas City Fashion Week and have also been featured in Italiano L'Orafo, Weekly Style Magazine, Fox 4KC, Say Yes to the Dress, and CNN Africa.