Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
Chris Ofili
In Chris Ofili’s work painterly and cultural elements – both sacred and profane, personal and political, from high art and popular culture – come together to play on ideas of beauty while carrying messages about black culture, history and exoticism. Ofili came to prominence in the early 1990s with richly orchestrated paintings combining rippling dots of paint, drifts of glitter, collaged images and elephant dung – varnished, often studded with map pins and applied to the picture surface as well as supporting the canvas – a combination of physical elevation and symbolic link to the earth. He won the Turner Prize in 1998 and over the past two decades has exhibited in many international institutions. In 2003 he was selected to represent Britain at the 50th Venice Biennale, where he presented his ambitious exhibition Within Reach. In 2010 Tate Britain presented an extensive survey of his work and in 2014, Night and Day, held at the New Museum, New York, featured more than thirty of Ofili’s major paintings, in addition to drawings and a selection of sculptures from across his career. The exhibition travelled to the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado in 2015.
His is a highly seductive art of braided connections that draws on a wide range of sources - including jazz and hip hop music, the Bible, and the works of artist and poet William Blake - and works on many levels, physically and metaphorically. Ofili's recent works adopt simple, pared-down forms while continuing to be just as expansive, dramatic and romantic - full of references to sensuality, sexuality and his ongoing exploration of Biblical themes. Collaborative projects include Metamorphosis: Titian 2012, in which contemporary artists were invited by London's National Gallery and Royal Opera House to respond to Titian's works as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Ofili worked alongside choreographers and dancers from The Royal Ballet on sets and costumes for a new ballet Diana & Actaeon as well as a substantial suite of paintings and works on paper inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Alongside the recent developments in the artist's material choices, Ofili has remained faithful to a pictorial style that relies on a conscious flattening of the picture plane, carefully layered surfaces, and diverse, history-spanning sources of inspiration.
Chris Ofili was born in Manchester, England, in 1968, and currently lives and works in Trinidad. He received his BA in Fine Art from the Chelsea School of Art in 1991 and his MA in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art in 1993. His most recent solo exhibitions include Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins at Victoria Miro London (2023); Chris Ofili: Harvest at Victoria Miro Venice (2022) and Chris Ofili: The Othello Prints, Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York (2019).
Major solo exhibitions of the artist's work have been presented at international venues including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2017–2019); National Gallery, London (2017); New Museum, New York (2014), travelling to Aspen Art Museum (2015); The Arts Club of Chicago (2010); Tate Britain, London (2010 and 2005); Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover (2006), The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2005), and Serpentine Gallery, London (1998). The artist represented Britain in the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and won the Turner Prize in 1998.
A major site-specific work by Chris Ofili is currently on view at Tate Britain. Spanning three walls, Requiem pays tribute to fellow artist Khadija Saye and remembers the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire. It offers a poetic reflection on loss, spirituality and transformation.
Related
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Channel
November 14 2024
Chris Ofili: Joyful Sorrow
Joyful Sorrow is a two-site exhibition by the acclaimed British painter Chris Ofili: new paintings at David Zwirner Paris and works on paper at Victoria Miro Venice continue the artist’s exploration of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1603–04). The exhibition is accompanied by a new publication in collaboration with scholar, poet and writer Jason Allen-Paisant. -
Exhibition
Posted
November 5 2024
The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, featuring Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili, travels to Philadelphia Museum of Art
Curated by Ekow Eshun and organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London, the exhibition (on view in Philadelphia 9 November 2024–9 February 2025) showcases the work of contemporary artists from the African diaspora and highlights the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life. Philadelphia Museum of Art -
Publications
November 5 2024
Chris Ofili: Joyful Sorrow
Chris Ofili: Joyful SorrowNot currently available£ 45.000 in cart -
Gallery Exhibition
26 October - 14 December 2024
Chris Ofili: Joyful Sorrow
Joyful Sorrow is a two-site exhibition at David Zwirner Paris and Victoria Miro Venice of the acclaimed British painter Chris Ofili’s newest body of work that continues his exploration of Shakespeare’s Othello. Victoria Miro Venice -
Exhibition
Posted
June 29 2024
The Time is Always Now, featuring Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili, travels to The Box, Plymouth
Curated by Ekow Eshun and organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London, the exhibition (on view in Plymouth 29 June–29 September 2024) showcases the work of contemporary artists from the African diaspora and highlights the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life. The Box, Plymouth -
Exhibition
Posted
June 28 2024
Chris Ofili: The Caged Bird’s Song – on view in Edinburgh
Chris Ofili's major tapestry with Dovecot Studios returns to Scotland this summer. The Caged Bird's Song, commissioned by The Clothworkers' Company, is shown in the context of the tapestry studio where the work was created. Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh -
Exhibition
Posted
May 25 2024
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami and Chris Ofili feature in When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting
On view from 25 May–27 October 2024, this exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel brings together works by 120 artists. Basel, Switzerland -
Exhibition
Posted
April 26 2024
Works by Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili are featured in The Infinite Woman at Fondation Carmignac
Curated by Alona Pardo, this group exhibition on the island of Porquerolles (until 2 November 2024), in the South of France, reflects on how women have been represented over the centuries, with the aim of disrupting conventional ideas of womanhood. Villa Carmignac, Porquerolles -
Exhibition
Posted
February 22 2024
On view at the National Portrait Gallery – The Time is Always Now, curated by Ekow Eshun and featuring Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili
The exhibition (22 February–19 May 2024) showcases the work of contemporary artists from the African diaspora and highlights the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life. National Portrait Gallery, London -
News story
Posted
December 8 2023
Isaac Julien, Alice Neel and Chris Ofili feature in the Frieze top ten shows in the UK and Ireland in 2023
Sean Burns highlights exhibitions by Isaac Julien, Alice Neel and Chris Ofili from the past year. Sean Burns, Freize -
Review
Posted
September 12 2023
Requiem by Chris Ofili is reviewed by The Telegraph
★★★★ ‘With the intensity of a vision by William Blake the mural offers something which is simultaneously plaintive and joyous, scorching yet suffused with solace.’ – Alastair Sooke Alastair Sooke, The Telegraph -
Commission
Posted
September 12 2023
Requiem by Chris Ofili is unveiled at Tate Britain
A major new site-specific work by Chris Ofili is unveiled at Tate Britain. Spanning three walls, Requiem pays tribute to fellow artist Khadija Saye and remembers the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire. It offers a poetic reflection on loss, spirituality and transformation. Tate Britain -
Interview
Posted
September 12 2023
‘I want this to hit people in the gut’ – Chris Ofili talks to the Guardian about Requiem
The artist talks to Gary Younge about a major new site-specific work unveiled at Tate Britain. The Guardian -
Review
Posted
July 3 2023
Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins is reviewed by Tom Morton for ArtReview
‘…these works are impossible to fix in the mind as single images. Instead they compel us to give ourselves over to them, to let them subsume us into the dazzling, disorienting fantasy land that they describe.’ Tom Morton, ArtReview -
News
Posted
June 12 2023
Chloë Ashby reviews Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins for Frieze
’Amid the mythical creatures and lush foliage are glimpses of greed, gluttony, envy, wrath, lust, pride and sloth, though the exact meaning of the images is tantalizingly out of reach.‘ Chloë Ashby, Frieze -
Gallery Exhibition
2 June - 29 July 2023
Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins is a major new series of paintings by Chris Ofili. Completed over the past six years, the works offer an expansive meditation on sin and the complex experience of sinfulness. Victoria Miro Gallery I -
Gallery Exhibition
Posted
June 2 2023
Chris Ofili: Pink Daydreams of a Faun
On view at Wharf Road is this series of ten prints on unique Suminagashi paintings, published in 29 suites by Two Palms, New York. In addition to the suite on view is a new book published by Victoria Miro, which includes an essay by Minna Moore Ede. Victoria Miro, London -
Review
Posted
June 2 2023
Adrian Searle reviews Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins
★★★★★ ’Voluptuous, narcotic, symbolist phantasmagorias in which nature is both fecund and corrupt, these paintings are among the most seductive things Ofili has ever done.‘ Adrian Searle, The Guardian -
Review
Posted
June 2 2023
Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins reviewed by Ben Luke
★★★★★ ‘He’s a true great, and this show is a summery, sultry, sensuous smash.’ Ben Luke, Evening Standard -
Publications
June 1 2023
Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins
Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly SinsNot currently available£ 75.000 in cart -
Exhibition
Posted
May 23 2023
Works by Kudzanai Violet-Hwami, Chris Ofili, Paula Rego and Stephen Willats feature in Tate Britain’s rehang
Tate Britain has just opened a complete rehang of its collection — the first time in 10 years that the the gallery's free displays have been presented anew. Much-loved and iconic works are joined by a host of new discoveries and additions. See works by VM artists Kudzanai Violet-Hwami, Chris Ofili, Paula Rego, and Stephen Willats among the 800 works by over 350 artists spanning six centuries. -
Gallery Exhibition
25 June - 10 September 2022
Chris Ofili: Harvest
The exhibition debuts a suite of new works that share the title Harvest – Flower Eaters. Completed over the past year in watercolour, charcoal and gold leaf on paper, these works comprise two rectangular forms that read as windows on to a nocturnal world. Victoria Miro Venice -
Exhibition
Posted
June 21 2022
Works by Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili feature in the Hayward Gallery exhibition In the Black Fantastic
An exhibition (29 June–18 September 2022) of 11 contemporary artists from the African diaspora, who draw on science fiction, myth and Afrofuturism to question our knowledge of the world. Hayward Gallery, London -
Review
Posted
December 5 2021
The Observer gives ★★★★★ for Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s
The new Tate Britain exhibition is positively reviewed by Laura Cumming for The Observer. Laura Cumming, The Observer -
Exhibition
Posted
November 30 2021
Works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien and Chris Ofili are featured in Life Between Islands at Tate Britain
This landmark group exhibition (1 December 2021–3 April 2022) explores the work of artists from the Caribbean who made their home in Britain, alongside other artists whose work has been influenced and inspired by Caribbean themes and heritage. Tate Britain -
Edition
Posted
November 23 2021
Greek Myths – a print portfolio by Chris Ofili
Now available to purchase, a suite of nine Giclée prints by Chris Ofili, presented in a portfolio case with a special cover hardback edition of Greek Myths: A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins. -
Gallery Exhibition
24 February - 30 April 2021
The Sky was Blue the Sea was Blue and the Boy was Blue
An exhibition of work by 19 artists celebrating the colour blue, available online and on Vortic as part of The London Collective. Victoria Miro on Vortic -
News story
Posted
February 9 2021
Chris Ofili on Philip Guston’s City Limits, 1969, in Artforum
Chris Ofili writes his response to Philip Guston’s City Limits, 1969 in the January/February 2021 issue of Artforum. Artforum -
Exhibition
Posted
January 7 2020
The Tokyo 2020 official posters, featuring work by Chris Ofili, go on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Chris Ofili's The Games People Play is among commissioned works by leading contemporary artists. The works are on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from 7 January–16 February 2020. Tokyo -
Exhibition
Posted
May 1 2019
Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem travels to The Gibbes Museum
This major traveling exhibition (on view at The Gibbes Museum, 24 May–18 August 2019) features works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien and Wangechi Mutu. The Gibbes Museum, Charleston -
Exhibition
Posted
January 16 2019
Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem at the Museum of the African Diaspora
This major traveling exhibition (16 January–14 April 2019) features works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Isaac Julien, Wangechi Mutu, Chris Ofili and Howardena Pindell. Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, California -
News story
Posted
May 10 2018
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Stan Douglas, Isaac Julien, Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili donate works to Creating Space: Artists for the Studio Museum in Harlem
Sotheby's New York hosts the viewing (4 – 16 May 2018) and auction (16, 17 May 2018) of works to benefit the Studio Museum's new building. Sotheby's New York -
Feature
Posted
May 6 2018
As part of its Contemporary Classics series, Elephant writes about Black Hands, Chris Ofili’s clock commission for PEER
'Black Hands provides a welcome moment of contemplation on a busy London street, and takes a unique approach to the notion of public art.' Holly Black, Elephant -
News
Posted
December 12 2017
Adrian Searle selects Chris Ofili: Weaving Magic as one of his Top 10 Art Shows of 2017
'Ofili turned a room at the National Gallery into an idyll.' Adrian Searle, The Guardian -
Exhibition
Posted
November 9 2017
Now open: ICA Miami, featuring an installation of paintings by Chris Ofili
Ofili’s extended-run installation will evolve over the course of its duration (1 December 2017 – 27 October 2019), with works being added and/or subtracted over time. Miami, Florida -
Exhibition
Posted
September 22 2017
Zeitz MOCAA opens, featuring work by Isaac Julien, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili
Opening displays include Isaac Julien's nine screen film installation Ten Thousand Waves, and works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Wangechi Mutu and Chris Ofili. Cape Town, South Africa -
News story
Posted
September 8 2017
Architectural Digest reports on Chris Ofili’s immersive art environment at MCA Chicago’s new restaurant
Chris Ofili's immersive installation is unveiled at Marisol, the brand new restaurant at MCA Chicago. Architectural Digest -
Review
Posted
July 15 2017
Imagine… Chris Ofili: The Caged Bird’s Song reviewed in The Telegraph
'His thoughtful ruminations on the genesis of his design trod that fine line between lifting a veil on the artistic process and letting the mystery be.' The Telegraph Jasper Rees -
Screening
Posted
July 13 2017
Imagine… Chris Ofili: The Caged Bird’s Song
The hour-long programme follows the creation of Ofili's tapestry, The Caged Bird's Song, currently on display at the National Gallery. BBC Two -
News story
Posted
July 4 2017
Frieze reports on the return to Tate Britain of Chris Ofili’s Union Black
Ofili's Union Black, gifted to Tate Britain, will be flown from the museum's roof this autumn. Frieze -
Review
Posted
May 13 2017
Jackie Wullschlager selects Chris Ofili: Poolside Magic as one of her Venice highlights
"This delicate series about metamorphosis and transformation… is good enough to call to mind Picasso’s Vollard Suite." Jackie Wullschlager, The Financial Times -
Gallery Exhibition
10 May - 8 July 2017
Chris Ofili: Poolside Magic
Victoria Miro is pleased to announce the opening of a new gallery in Venice. The inaugural exhibition is Poolside Magic by Chris Ofili. The exhibition comprises a suite of pastel,... Victoria Miro Venice -
Review
Posted
May 10 2017
Artnews reviews Chris Ofili: Poolside Magic at Victoria Miro Venice
'If you are in Venice right now, drop what you are doing and go see Poolside Magic.' Andrew Russeth, Artnews -
Review
Posted
May 5 2017
The Spectator reviews Chris Ofili: Weaving Magic
'His new tapestry, a triptych entitled ‘The Caged Bird’s Song’, is a sensuously gorgeous thing, full of curvilinear, twisting forms and sumptuous colour harmonies blended softly together.' – Martin Gayford Martin Gayford, The Spectator -
Exhibition
Posted
April 26 2017
Chris Ofili: Weaving Magic at the National Gallery
The exhibition (26 April - 28 August 2017) marks the first time the artist has worked in the medium of tapestry and will include a series of preparatory works on paper in an installation conceived by the artist for the Gallery's Sunley Room. National Gallery, London -
Review
Posted
April 25 2017
The Telegraph reviews Chris Ofili: Weaving Magic
'An irresistible pagan altar to art' – Alastair Sooke Alastair Sooke, The Telegraph -
Review
Posted
April 25 2017
Chris Ofili: Weaving Magic reviewed in The Guardian
★★★★★ from Adrian Searle: "Weaving Magic is all a liquid dance, potent and dangerous as a cocktail, lovely and sinuous as a snake. I’m bitten." Adrian Searle, The Guardian -
Interview
Posted
April 16 2017
Chris Ofili discusses his forthcoming National Gallery exhibition and the enduring influence of Trinidad in The Observer
The artist talks to Tim Adams ahead of his exhibitions Weaving Magic at the National Gallery and Poolside Magic at Victoria Miro Venice. Photograph: Kibwe Braithwaite for the Observer. Tim Adams, The Observer -
News story
Posted
January 4 2017
Chris Ofili made CBE in New Year's Honours
The artist is among the Order of the British Empire honorees for 2017. Artforum -
Gallery Exhibition
23 September - 5 November 2016
Protest
Doug Aitken, Jules de Balincourt, Vlassis Caniaris, Elmgreen & Dragset, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Christian Holstad, Isaac Julien, Yayoi Kusama, Wangechi Mutu, Alice Neel, Chris Ofili, Richard Prince, Sarah Sze, Wolfgang... Victoria Miro Gallery I -
Preview
Posted
September 23 2016
Power to... the art of protest, as featured in The Observer
As part of a piece about the rich history of protest art, Tim Adams talks to Doug Aitken, Michael Elmgreen, Isaac Julien and Sarah Sze, whose work features in Protest at Victoria Miro. Tim Adams, The Observer -
Publication
Posted
September 23 2016
Just out: Protest publication
This publication accompanies Protest at Victoria Miro, 23 September - 5 November 2016, an exhibition of historical and contemporary works by artists concerned with the socio-political issues of their day,... -
Publication
Posted
August 22 2016
Chris Ofili creates an exclusive cover for frieze twenty-fifth anniversary issue
The September issue of frieze is out now, with an exclusively commissioned cover by Chris Ofili. Frieze -
Commission
Posted
April 14 2016
Chris Ofili: Black Hands at PEER
Black Hands is the first annual clock commission, inaugurating the recently re-landscaped public space to the front of PEER, on Hoxton Street. PEER, London -
Gallery Exhibition
13 October - 14 November 2015
Forces in Nature: Curated by Hilton Als
A group exhibition curated by the celebrated US critic and author Hilton Als. The exhibition explores the idea of man in nature and includes works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Verne... Victoria Miro Gallery II -
Profile
Posted
October 6 2014
Chris Ofili profiled in The New Yorker
"Chris Ofili paints in a dilapidated white cottage on Lady Chancellor Road, about ten minutes from downtown Port of Spain, in Trinidad. It has three rooms, each large enough to accommodate one or two of the strange, dreamlike paintings he is working on…" Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker -
Gallery Exhibition
6 October - 21 December 2012
Chris Ofili: to take and to give
Over the past two years Ofili has worked on a substantial suite of paintings and works on paper inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses as part of Metamorphosis: Titian 2012, a unique... Victoria Miro Gallery II -
Editions
October 6 2012
Study for Ovid-Windfall, 2012: Chris Ofili
Giclée on paper 48.5 x 31.5 cm 19 x 12 3/8 in Edition of 175 plus 25 APs -
Gallery Exhibition
22 June - 30 July 2010
In the Company of Alice: Group Exhibition
'If you do not solve your painting problem in painting human beings, you do not solve it at all'. Gertrude Stein Hernan Bas, John Currin, Verne Dawson, Peter Doig, Marlene... Victoria Miro Gallery I -
Editions
January 15 2010
Ritual & Desire, 2009: Chris Ofili
Original lithograph on 300g Velin d´Arches paper 100 x 70 cm 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 in Edition of 60
Previous exhibitions at Victoria Miro
Chris Ofili: The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins is a major new series of paintings by Chris Ofili. Completed over the past six years, the works offer an expansive meditation on sin and the complex experience of sinfulness.Chris Ofili: Harvest
The exhibition debuts a suite of new works that share the title Harvest – Flower Eaters. Completed over the past year in watercolour, charcoal and gold leaf on paper, these works comprise two rectangular forms that read as windows on to a nocturnal world.
The Sky was Blue the Sea was Blue and the Boy was Blue
An exhibition of work by 19 artists celebrating the colour blue, available online and on Vortic as part of The London Collective.