This autumn, the New Museum will present Chris Ofili’s first major solo museum exhibition in the United States. Chris Ofili: Night and Day will occupy the museum’s three main galleries and showcase a diverse body of paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
The exhibition will provide an overview of Ofili’s colourful twenty-year career, presenting works from every stage of his practice. Ofili’s early paintings from the 90’s bear his signature layering of materials, such as paint, resin, glitter, and elephant dung, and a diverse combination of iconography. Upon his move to Trinidad from London in 2005, he worked on “The Blue Rider” series, inspired by the early twentieth-century artist group. Referencing the paintings of Matisse and Gauguin, Ofili’s most recent works are informed by exotic characters, outlandish landscapes, and folkloric myths.
As the title of the exhibition suggests, Ofili’s work has undergone constant change and variation. Over the course of two decades, Ofili’s work ranges from boldly expressive to deeply introspective, reflecting the breadth and depth of his oeuvre. Known for his vibrant, elaborate artworks, Ofili has taken imagery and inspiration from disparate sources as the Bible, hip-hop music, Zimbabwean cave paintings, blaxploitation films, and William Blake poems. His works juxtapose high and low, sacred and profane, simultaneously celebrating and questioning the power of images and representation.
Chris Ofili, Untitled (Afromuse), 1995–2005
Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London. © Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, The Adoration of Captain Shit and the Legend of the Black Stars (Third Version) 1998
Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/London, and Victoria Miro, London. © Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, Afronirvana
2002
Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/London, and Victoria Miro, London. © Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, Confession (Lady Chancellor) 2007
Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London. © Chris Ofili
by Louise Lui
Chris Ofili: Night and Day will run from October 29, 2014 through February 1, 2015 at the New Museum
235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002