ART CITIES:Venice- Chris Ofili
Since the mid-90s, Chris Ofili has become well known for his vibrant, technically complex, and meticulously executed paintings and works on paper. While his early works were predominantly abstract, involving intricate patterns and colors. Ofili’s work has changed profoundly since he moved from London to Trinidad, in 2005. In his latest paintings, his fluid colors and forms are elongated and enigmatic.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Victoria Miro Gallery Archive
Entitled “Poolside Magic” Chris Ofili inaugurates the new space of Victoria Miro Gallery in Venice. The exhibition comprises a suite of pastel, charcoal and watercolour works on paper which are being shown together for the first time. In the work “Poolside Magic” (2012), that gives the title of the exhibition, a man in coat-tails serves a naked woman beside a swimming pool, riffs on themes of sexuality, mutability, magic and the occult, making reference to the vibrant and sensuous landscape and culture of Trinidad, where the artist lives and works. Source material for the series includes a photograph of Trinidadian artist Boscoe Holder at work in his Port of Spain studio. Chris Ofili visited Trinidad for the first time in 2000, when he was invited by an international art trust to attend a painting workshop in Port of Spain. After moving to Trinidad from London in 2005, Ofili’s work took a new direction and prompted “The Blue Rider” series, which takes its name from the early 20th Century artist group that sought spirituality by connecting visual art with music. Since then, Ofili has gone on to create a number of large blue paintings. His most recent canvases have been animated by exotic characters, outlandish landscapes, and folkloric myths that resonate with references to the paintings of Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin. The brightly colored canvases of “Metamorphoses” series were inspired by the poem of the same name by Ovid and illustrate the ancient Roman author’s stories of gods and humans, including the tale of the goddess Diana and the hunter Actaeon. They were initially created at the invitation of the National Gallery of London in response to their own series of paintings of Diana and Actaeon by Titian from the mid-sixteenth century. Ofili’s paintings offer a unique interpretation of both the original text and its painted interpretations, opening up the ancient myths to new, contemporary readings.
Info: Victoria Miro, Il Capricorno, San Marco 1994, Venice, Duration: 10/5-1/7/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-13:30 & 15:00-18:30, (Extended Opening Hours 10:30-19:00 during Vernissage of La Biennale di Venezia, 10-14/5/17), www.victoria-miro.com
