Chris Ofili is one of the best known of the generation of YBAs, or Young British Artists. His intense and original colorful visual style combines the worlds of kitsch, hip-hop music, decorative art, Pop Art, blaxploitation films, the London Zoo, and the Zimbabwe plains. These six untitled watercolors, small in size, exude a delicacy that is energized by the artist’s signature use of bold color: his simple lines and curves, almost reminiscent of Japanese brush work, convey elegance and beauty. The women depicted do not appear to be specific models; in fact, they have a generic quality similar to the magazine photos that adorn the artist’s paintings. Like all of Ofili’s works, these are charged with feeling as well as complex meanings.
Copyright 2000 Walker Art Center