Chris Ofili

CHRIS OFILI (Manchester, United Kingdom, 1968).
Untitled, 1997.
Pencil and watercolor on paper.
Signed on the reverse.
Provenance: Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin (ref. COZ 9705).
Auctioned at Sotheby’s, London, Contemporary Curated, November 20, 2018, lot 24. The label preserved on the reverse corresponds to that sale.
Measurements: 24.2 x 15.5 cm; 49 x 34.5 cm (frame).

Created in 1997, a pivotal moment in Chris Ofili’s international rise to prominence, the work coincides with his participation in the influential “Sensation” exhibition at the Royal Academy and with his solo show “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy But It Sure Is Fun” at Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin—the gallery from which this piece originates. The following year, he would receive the Turner Prize.

Here, Ofili approaches the female portrait through the intimacy of the small format. The figure is built up using watercolor glazes in ochres and violets, while pencil strokes remain visible on the face, the clothing, and the linear pattern of the background. The large, dark mass of hair, the necklace, and the earring draw attention to the figure’s identity and adornment. Within the context of his work from the 1990s, this depiction can be understood as part of his reflection on Black identity and the ways in which it had been constructed and represented, thereby granting the figure an indomitable presence. This combination of chromatic transparency and economy of means characterizes an important aspect of his work on paper and engages with the repertoire of Black faces and figures he developed during these years, in parallel with his monumental paintings and series such as *Afro Muses* (1995–2005).

Chris Ofili is one of the leading figures in contemporary British art. Trained at the Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art, he received the Turner Prize in 1998 and represented Great Britain at the 2003 Venice Biennale. Tate Britain dedicated a major retrospective to him in 2010, and in 2014, the New Museum in New York presented *Chris Ofili: Night and Day*, the first major survey of his career at an American museum. In 2017, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). His work is included in collections such as those of the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.