In Chris Ofili, Lesson For Young Nigerian Artists

Nigeria Tue 09-02-2010

In Chris Ofili, Lesson For Young Nigerian Artists
By Tajudeen Sowole/ ngrguardiannews.com

One of the world's most controversial artists, Chris Ofili, 42, has resurfaced - from the rubbles of suspicion cast on his work - to point direction for art of the 21st century.

At the Tate Gallery, U.K., Ofili's retrospective show, which opened two weeks ago and ending in May 2010, features 45 paintings, as well as pencil drawings and watercolours from his mid-1990s works till date.

The Holy Virgin Mary by Chris Ofili

The Holy Virgin Mary | Papare Collage/Oil Paint/ Glitter/ polyester resin/ Map Pins/ Elephant Dung on Linen | Chris Ofili

In 1999, Ofili's painting, The Holy Virgin Mary which was part of a group and tour Sensation, at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, U.S. had led to a legal row between the Mayor, Rudy Giuliani and the museum.

Giuliani had threatened to withdraw the city's yearly $7m grant to the museum because he felt The Holy Virgin Mary was "horrible and disgusting, not art."

As emotion was raised over the show, the controversial work was defaced by one of the angry visitors to the museum.

In the work, the Nigerian depicted Mary as a black woman surrounded by collages of female genital images assumed to have been cut from pornographic material.

However, it was a double victory for the museum as court ruled that the yearly funding be restored and a $250 fine awarded for the defacement.

That row explained Ofili's strength and perhaps confirmed that he was worth the Turner Prize award given him a year earlier.

He belongs to a group of artists, mostly in their 40s and 30s, known as The Young British Artists (YBA) - with common background such as studying at either Royal College of Art or Goldsmith College of Art and passed through the revered Charles Saatchi collection.

Some of the movement's key members are known for their works, which have made radical statements on the contemporary art landscape. They are the new face of British art.

In fact, Ofili is regarded as the most famous black artist in Britain.

See related article:

United Kingdom Artist Ofili Ditches Elephant Dung in New Show

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