Glitter and elephant dung at the New Museum

Some days ago I went to New Museum's current exhibition "Chris Ofili: Night and Day". Chris Ofili is a British painter with Nigerian roots.

Over the past two decades, Ofili’s practice has become identified with vibrant and meticulously executed artworks that meld figuration, abstraction, and decoration. The artist’s diverse oeuvre has taken imagery and inspiration from such disparate, history-spanning sources as the Bible, hip-hop music, Zimbabwean cave paintings, Blaxploitation films, and the works of William Blake. (New Museum's homepage).

The exhibition is divided into three parts. The second floor shows Ofili’s early paintings from the ’90s where he used his signature layering of materials, including paint, resin, glitter, and elephant dung, a material he first collected during an art study trip to Zimbabwe in 1992. The paintings from this period are something I have never seen before: psychedelic surfaces with provocative imagery from a staggering array of cultural sources, assembling a cast of characters including religious figures, political and cultural icons from across history, and imaginary heroes.

Chris Ofili, "Afrodizzia", second version, 1996. Photo from Tate Britain

As the title of the exhibition suggests, there is a night-side of the exhibition which contrasts with the colorful paintings in the second floor. So on the third floor we find nine large blue paintings in a dark architectural environment designed by the artist. These works are from the so-called "Blue Rider” series, which takes its name from the early twentieth-century artist group that sought spirituality by connecting visual art with Music. Composed in dark hues of blue, this series of paintings evokes the blue light of twilight and the soulfulness of blues Music.

Installation view

On the fourth floor, again in an environment designed by the artist, we find Ofili's most recent canvases.

Those have been animated by exotic characters, outlandish landscapes, and folkloric myths that resonate with references to the paintings of Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin.

For me this exhibition at the New Museum is one of this autumn's exhibition highlights, besides the Zero exhibition at the Guggenheim. As I really liked Chris Ofili's exhibition, I was interested how other bloggers like the exhibition and I found a very nice video made by James Kalm, reflecting the exhibition, to which I would like to respond in the following.

I like that the video starts with music and I think the camera angle makes you feel like walking through the exhibition yourself. What I like additionally is James' talking. He gives background information and tells anecdotes, so even people who get to know Ofili's work for the first time feel fetched. Sometimes there is also some chuckling and humor in James' talking, which is great.

James says that he likes Ofili's work because it is "very decorative". I am sure there are many people in the art world who think that "decorative" is not a adequat word to describe art, but I like Ofili's work for the same reason. With the zoom of his camera James is able to zoom as close in the paintings as close as I wanted to be. Conerning the third floor I can only agree with James: I wish to come back when they turn the light on too!

What I personally do not like is that James mentions the watercolor heads in the end of his walk through the second floor. For me they mark the starting point of the exhibition, as Ofili draws one of these rather simple watercolors every morning.

James' video is like amble walk with a friend through the exhibition, where one must not be afraid to express own thoughts and favors. When James talks to the guy in the fourth floor one feels like being part of the conversation. Great job James!