Born in 1985, she lives and works in New York.
This artist concentrates on the socio-political construction of skin colour through drawings which ask, “What does it mean to be black?”. Her figurative work explores her personal story, from childhood in Nigeria to integration, in the conservative state of Alabama, into American culture. She has innovated in her representation of Afro-Americans by introducing upper class figures and also a gay couple. The use of charcoal, pastel, chalk and black ballpoint in her drawings means that these are comparable to paintings.
A graduate of CalArt (Los Angeles), she has had numerous solo shows, notably at the Barbican Centre (London) and National Gallery (Washington DC) in 2019-2020 and at the Whitney Museum (New York) in 2017. Her work is held in the collections of several major American museums.
Jack Shainman Gallery (New York)
Photo: courtesy Abigail The Third
