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Artworks

Untitled (diptych from Afro Muses series), 1995-2005

  • Artist

    Chris Ofili

  • Title

    Untitled (diptych from Afro Muses series)

  • Date

    1995-2005

  • Medium

    Watercolor and pencil on paper

  • Dimensions

    Each work: 9 1/2 × 6 in. (24.1 × 15.2 cm) Mat: 14 1/4 × 18 in. (36.2 × 45.7 cm) Frame: 15 3/4 × 19 5/8 × 1 in. (40 × 49.8 × 2.5 cm)

  • Credit line

    The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Anne Ehrenkranz in honor of Nancy L. Lane

  • Object Number

    2006.22

In “Afro Muses,” a series of 181 small-scale watercolors produced over a decade, Chris Ofili paints familiar faces, capturing the essence of people who seem to step out of popular culture, art history, or a family gathering. Here, a Black couple sports Afros and coordinated outfits. By using amorphous lines, asymmetrical patterns, stylized features, and luminous colors, Ofili interrogates mainstream definitions of beauty in art history—which are often associated with the white body—and incorporates his own figures into this visual narrative.


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Artworks

Untitled (diptych from Afro Muses series), 1995-2005

  • Artist

    Chris Ofili

  • Title

    Untitled (diptych from Afro Muses series)

  • Date

    1995-2005

  • Medium

    Watercolor and pencil on paper

  • Dimensions

    Each work: 9 1/2 × 6 in. (24.1 × 15.2 cm) Mat: 14 1/4 × 18 in. (36.2 × 45.7 cm) Frame: 15 3/4 × 19 5/8 × 1 in. (40 × 49.8 × 2.5 cm)

  • Credit line

    The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Anne Ehrenkranz in honor of Nancy L. Lane

  • Object Number

    2006.22

In “Afro Muses,” a series of 181 small-scale watercolors produced over a decade, Chris Ofili paints familiar faces, capturing the essence of people who seem to step out of popular culture, art history, or a family gathering. Here, a Black couple sports Afros and coordinated outfits. By using amorphous lines, asymmetrical patterns, stylized features, and luminous colors, Ofili interrogates mainstream definitions of beauty in art history—which are often associated with the white body—and incorporates his own figures into this visual narrative.


Explore further