Qudir Ayodele is a New York–based painter whose work merges classical oil techniques with contemporary self-portraiture. Currently pursuing his MFA in Painting at Pratt Institute, he reimagines art history as an ongoing dialogue between past and present. Through layered underpaintings, glazing, and chiaroscuro, Ayodele transforms his studio into a stage where identity, ritual, and time converge. Drawing inspiration from Caravaggio, Van Dyck, and Rembrandt, his paintings explore selfhood and memory as living forms of continuity. His ongoing series repositions the artist’s body within the lineage of historical painting and contemporary reflection.