Toyin Ojih Odutola

New York City, NY, Sotheby's, Contemporary Discoveries, 3 October 2022, lot 448

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Please note that Birminghan (centre) is the centre image within the artist's Birmingham triptych, executed in 2014.

In 2012 and 2014, Odutola participated in the project AFRO: Black Identity in America and Brazil that reflected on the complexities of racial identity at the University of New Mexico's Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Institute operates a professional printmaking workshop, gallery programs, and rigorous educational training for artisan printers.

Toyin’s expressive portraits delve into the multiplicity of identity through intricate depictions of Black skin. She layers pencil, pen, charcoal, graphite, and pastel onto paper and panel, creating rich topographies that mirror the complex textures of her subjects’ personalities. Known for her multimedia drawings and works on paper, which delve into the fluidity of identity and the potential of visual storytelling. Odutola attributes the evolution of her style to her use of pen, which she values for its dual role as a writing instrument, aligning her artwork closely with fiction. She often dedicates months to crafting narratives that unfold through her series of artworks, much like chapters in a book.

Toyin's works have been exhibited at the Whitney Museum, New York; Smithsonian National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, Cape Town, amongst others.

We are grateful to Ms. Josette Bailey for her assistance in cataloguing this work.