Sale 2535 - African-American Fine Art, April 2, 2020

187  TOYIN OJIH ODUTOLA (1985 - ) Untitled . Etching with relief roll on Rives BFK paper, 2016. 425x324 mm; 16 5 / 8 x12 3 / 4 inches (sheet). Printer’s proof, aside from the numbered edition of 14. Signed, dated and inscribed “P/P” in pencil on the mount. Published by Flying Horse Editions/UCF, Orlando. Nigerian born artist, Toyin Ojih Odutola is often known for her intimate drawings that focus on the physical and sociopolitical identities of skin color. She confronts skin in her work with intricate mark-making that individualizes each of her subjects. Odutola’s interest in surface qualities stems from the history of African textiles, which inspires the artist’s rich textures on flat planes. Concerned with historical representations of black subjects in portraiture, Odutola undermines notions of blackness in her drawings by exploring what it means to look or be perceived as black—while drawn in black ink, not all of her subjects are of African descent. Odutola received her BA in Studio Art and Communications at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and her MFA from the California College of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, StudioMuseum of Harlem, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Connecticut, Whitney Museum of American Art, Birmingham Museum of Art and The National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. [2,000/3,000] END OF SALE