Toyin Ojih Odutola: A Matter of Fact

A Matter of Fact, which accompanied an exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), showcases the work of Nigerian-born New York artist Toyin Ojih Odutola (b. 1985). Employing diverse mediums to emphasize the striated terrain of an image and its formulaic representations, Ojih Odutola ca [...]
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A Matter of Fact, which accompanied an exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), showcases the work of Nigerian-born New York artist Toyin Ojih Odutola (b. 1985). Employing diverse mediums to emphasize the striated terrain of an image and its formulaic representations, Ojih Odutola carefully stages mesmerizing portraits of the fictional UmuEze Amara Clan in opulence. Utilizing conceptual portraiture, the purview of the affluent, the artist invites us to consider the social construct of class within the intersection of race, identity, sexuality, and gender. In her vibrant depictions of imagined Nigerian aristocracy, rendered in charcoals, pastels, and pencil, Ojih Odutola explores scale, patterns, and color to present characters who distinctly occupy their privileged, lavish space.

Toyin Ojih Odutola, originally from Ile-Ife, Nigeria, has participated in exhibitions at various institutions, including Brooklyn Museum, New York; Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; Studio Museum Harlem, New York; Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; and Menil Collection, Houston. Permanent collections include The Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, Spencer Museum of Art, and the National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian). She earned her BA from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and her MFA from California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Ojih Odutola lives and works in New York.