Year: 2022
Medium: acrylic, oil, oil bar, oil pastel on canvas
Dimensions: 200 x 170 cm (78 3/4 x 66 7/8 in.)
Acquired from Taka Ishii Gallery, 2022
This work has a refreshing feeling as if a ray of bright light has suddenly penetrated through a deep forest. Behind the spreading calm green surface, the sparse bright yellows and pinks peek through, resembling dappled sunlight. It is probably made of layers of highly transparent paints, allowing viewers to see through several folded layers of extremely diverse colors. This is the reason why this work is filled with not only powerful and bold brushstrokes but also delicate and beautiful light. Fadojutimi’s image seems to be visible in that she does not simply wield the brush with force but rather enjoys capturing the wonderful visions that outpour from the work when she is freely controlling the colors, lights, and lines. The depiction of dark, black branch-like elements that seem to unexpectedly cut through the space gives a perfect tension to the composition, which is almost intoxicating in its recklessness.
Fadojutimi was unable to leave her studio during the COVID-19 lockdown. She says that this enriched her imagination, and allowed her to continue working by “translating nostalgia in a dream world.” Fadojutimi draws on a range of influences in her creative practice, producing paintings inspired by sounds, places, and texts. In this work, “Nostalgia,” the traces of the beautiful afflatus from the artist’s inner world are translated onto the canvas in the form of layered colors and line drawings.
