Luke Agada's First New York Solo Show Opens at Sean Kelly

Key facts

• Luke Agada's first New York solo exhibition, "When the Center Holds," opens at Sean Kelly on September 11, 2026, and runs through October 31, 2026.
• Agada was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and is now based in Chicago.
• He initially trained in veterinary medicine in Nigeria and was a self-taught artist before receiving an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023.
• The exhibition title reverses W.B. Yeats's "The Second Coming" line "the center cannot hold."
• Works in the show include "Of Tempest, Of Dreams" (2026, oil on canvas, 72 x 84 inches), "Sing Over Me" (2026, 72 x 60 inches), and "Manoah I" and "Manoah II" (both 2026, 36 x 60 inches).
• Agada cites Picasso, Georges Braque, Giorgio de Chirico, Magritte, and Max Ernst as influences, as well as Okwui Enwezor's exhibition "The Short Century" and Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart."
• His first solo museum exhibition will be at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis next year, followed by a solo show at Roberts Projects in Los Angeles.
• Installation views of "When the Center Holds" were photographed by Adam Reich.