I was just reading through a list of materials that Chris Ofili used in the layering technique of his early works. “Paint, resin, glitter, elephant dung…” Just plopped at the end there, as if it was standard practice. Not much about the Turner Prize-winner’s practice is standard though, and while his use of poo gained him notoriety in his early career, a wide-ranging retrospective at the New Museum in New York shows Ofili to be much more than just a sensibility shock merchant.
Born in Manchester, Ofili travelled to Zimbabwe during his studies and encountered cave paintings which were to influence his style, and choice of materials. He is also known to mine a varied range of sources for inspiration, from the Bible to Blaxploitation films, William Blake to hip-hop. The artist moved to Trinidad in 2005 and so his work began moving in a different direction too. The Blue Rider series takes it’s name from the early 20th Century artistic set that sought spirituality through connecting visual art and music, and nine of Ofili’s works from this series have been brought together for the first time at this exhibition, to be displayed in an architectural setting designed by the artist. There will also be a large selection of his Metamorphoses series on view, which illustrate the mythical stories of Roman author Ovid. Chris Ofili: Night and Day covers three floors of the museum, and will run from 29 October 2014 to 1 February next year.
Chris Ofili, Pimpin’ ain’t easy, 1997.
Oil, polyester resin, paper collage, glitter, map pins, and elephant dung on linen,
96 x 72 in (243.8 x 182.8 cm).
Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/London, and Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin.
© Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili,
The Adoration of Captain Shit and the Legend of the Black Stars (Third Version), 1998.
Oil, acrylic, polyester resin, paper collage, glitter, map pins, and elephant dung on linen,
96 x 72 in (243.8 x 182.8 cm).
Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/London, and Victoria Miro, London.
© Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, “Untitled (Afromuse),” 1995–2005.
Watercolor and pencil on paper, 9 3/5 x 6 1/5 in (24.3 x 15.7 cm).
Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London.
© Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, Confession (Lady Chancellor), 2007.
Oil on linen, 110 3/5 x 76 4/5 in (281 x 195.3 cm).
Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London.
© Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, Triple Beam Dreamer, 2001–02.
Acrylic, oil, leaves, glitter, polyester resin, map pins, and elephant dung on linen,
72 x 120 in (182.8 x 304.8 cm).
Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/London, and Victoria Miro, London.
© Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili, Ovid-Desire, 2011–12.
Oil, pastel, and charcoal on linen, 122 x 78 3/4 in (310 x 200 cm).
Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/London, and Victoria Miro, London.
© Chris Ofili
