CHRIS OFILI
Celestial
In 1998, on a random stroll through Kensington Gardens I was handed a flyer of this painting I was so drawn to. It led me to the Serpentine Gallery where I discovered the work of British artist Chris Ofili. This watercolor painting Celestial is one of my favorite artworks.
It’s a heavily stylized portrait of a black woman, whimsical in expression and dressed in brilliant jewel tones. Ofili explored this beautiful play of positive and negative space, and masterful use of color and pattern from 1995-2005 with a whole series of these vibrant paintings - Afro Muses.
Chris Ofili may be more well known for his use of elephant dung as a medium, depictions of the Virgin Mary, or stories on the black experience and racial politics. And all of those warrant discussion but this series deserves its own spotlight because it’s stunningly beautiful.
Librado Romero/The New York Times
Chris Ofili at the Studio Museum in Harlem
“A lot of black art that came before was set up to critique the system. I thought that was boring. Basically you would have to be right all the time. And I was not interested in being right all the time. I wanted to be sincere and outrageous and friendly and rude and experimental and conventional. I just wanted to try to be who I am.”
Beyonce approved
Chris Ofili