-
Artworks
Joy Labinjo (SOLD)
Breakfast With Violet And Adam, 2020Oil150 x 200 x 4 cmCourtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary£15,000Emerging British-Nigerian artist Joy Labinjo has already had her first major solo institutional exhibition at the age of just 25, at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead in 2020. Subsequently offered a place on Oxford University’s Ruskin School of Art’s MA programme, Labinjo is being praised for heralding a new age in the representation of black figures and family groups in painting.
Emerging British-Nigerian artist Joy Labinjo has already had her first major solo institutional exhibition at the age of just 25, at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead in 2020. Subsequently offered a place on Oxford University’s Ruskin School of Art’s MA programme, Labinjo is being praised for heralding a new age in the representation of black figures and family groups in painting.
Drawing inspiration from family photographs, Labinjo’s visual language is characterised by a vibrant palette and distinctive use of flat pattern to articulate skin tone, fabric textures, plants and wallpaper. Describing her work as being ‘about what you know, about your life and who you are’, Labinjo’s subjects are usually intimately grouped, with their arms around each other, relaxing on sofas together, or posing for formal photographs on special occasions. The larger-than life paintings inevitably suggest narratives involving their subjects to the viewer, but also explore broader issues around identity and belonging.
Labinjo was awarded the Woon Art Prize in 2017. She has exhibited widely in the UK since graduating from Newcastle University in 2013. Her work is held in public collections in the UK, Morocco and the USA. She lives and works in London.
