Untitled (Man Afromuse), 2006
Watercolor and pencil on paper
45.7 x 30.5 cm

artist profile

Chris Ofili

born

1968

lives and works

Port of Spain, Trinidad

education

Chelsea School of Art, Chelsea, UK, 1991
Royal College of Art, London, UK, 1993

about the artist

Chris Ofili bares on his canvases interior ruminations on the sometimes overlapping, sometimes antagonistic elements of Black history, sexuality, traditional African culture, rap music, and religion. The lowbrow is conflated with the rarefied in colorful, energetic pictures that are often garnished with a generous serving of elephant dung. Approaching his work, one will discover a sensorial encounter of textures, layers, and dimensions—a psychedelic concoction of pointillist dots, pasted clippings, glitter, pins, and other unexpected materials. Anchoring the production of these three-dimensional works is a faithful drawing practice that offers an intimate encounter with the nascence of the artist’s creative processes and artistic inquests. Born in Manchester, UK, and currently living and working in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Ofili was the recipient of the 1998 Turner Prize presented by the Tate Gallery in London, UK, and exhibited in the British Pavilion in the 2003 Venice Biennale. Between 2000 and 2005, he was a council member for the Tate Gallery, and in 2004 was appointed trustee of the Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art in London. He has held solo exhibitions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, and Germany. His work has been included in group shows held at sites such as the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, USA; the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, USA; the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA; the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan; the Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, Austria; the Castello di Rivoli at the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Turin, Italy; and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. 

  • Selected exhibition history
  • Permanent collections
  • Projects
  • Editions
  • Publications
  • Recent news

British Council Collection, London, UK

British Museum, London, UK

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, USA

Contemporary Art Society, London, UK

Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt

Joselyn Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA

Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA

The Studio Museum, Harlem, New York, USA

Tate Gallery, London, UK

Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA

Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK

CHRIS OFILI | New Museum, New York

Occupying the New Museum’s three main galleries, “Chris Ofili: Night and Day” spans the artist’s influential career, encompassing his paintings, drawings, and sculptures. [more]