Chris Ofili

Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although it fails to fully convey the soft texture of the suede and the nuances in black and dark grey visible in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals a light and unobtrusive rub mark to the centre of the right side edge of the frame, as well as a few light irregularities in the suede towards the lower half of the composition, which are inherent to the nature of the medium. Upon very close inspection, one of the thin suede lines is slightly loose on the right side edge, approximately 50cm. from the upper right corner.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Pramnian Odyssey I is a rich and lavish example of a series of paintings that Chris Ofili has been preoccupied with since 1997, in which he limits his colour palette to black, green and red – and often, as in the present work, gold. The artist prestigiously produced an immersive installation based on this body of work for the Venice Biennale in 2003, which characteristically subverted established notions of nationality by immersing the British pavilion in symbols of black identity.

Although the symbolism of the colours red, black and green has been politicised by the pan-Africanism of Marcus Garvey, Ofili’s use of this deliberately restricted palette is not just racially motivated. As the artist explained, “the red, black and green need not be a politically aggressive stance, it could just depict and represent beauty and love and unity” (the artist quoted in Thelma Golden, Chris Ofili: Within Reach, London 2003, n.p.).

Beauty, love and unity are indeed the subjects of his Pramnian Odyssey series, which, whilst exploring his new formal direction, engages with a very different source: classical mythology. The title in fact refers to the Pramnian wines that were famously the best of the island of Lesbos, and were well-known far beyond ancient Greece. But the island also has a strong sexual connotation as the origin of the word lesbian. In Ofili’s work these two elements are suggestively combined, depicting two black women surrounded by the golden branches of the vine from which they pick its heavenly fruits.

Blending identity with classical mythology and a racially-inspired galactic aesthetic, Pramnian Odyssey I constitutes a fascinating amalgam of the wide range of influences in Ofili’s mature work. The sensuous quality of the suede leather and leaf gold, moreover, makes the work not only visually but also materially extremely rich in appearance, thus reflecting the quintessential qualities of Chris Ofili’s compelling work.