Review: Wandering with Determination and Beauty

Toyin Ojih Odutola's first solo museum exhibit at the Whitney, "To Wander Determined," is a fierce and resonant, lyrical and vivid series of figures loosely connected by a fictional narrative of two Nigerian Families. Born in Nigeria herself and raised in Alabama, Ojih Odutola is best known for her dark, intense portraits using a variety of mediums that emphasize the visual nuances of a face or a form that go beyond usual interpretations. She's been working for years, and has been included in numerous group shows and exhibits, including those at the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. This solo show, however, marks a turning point for the young artist. 

In her statement for the exhibit, Ojih Odutola writes as "Deputy Private Secretary, Udoka House, Lagos," and presents the portraits as work from "the private collections of two aristocratic families: The UmuEze Amara, one of the oldest noble clans of Nigeria, and the Obafemi, a minor aristocratic house whose prominence that stems from their work as traders and ambassadors for various governances." What we see are large-scale, life-like drawings, using charcoal, pencil and pastel. Stunning as they are dreamy, the underlying fictional premise serves in a way similar to the suspension of disbelief that is used in theater — you know these characters, this story and their relationships are not real, but when it's done right, you can't help but believe that what you are experiencing is the truest, most honest depiction of lives lived, emotions spilled, along with colorful suits, lace collars, scarves and jewels hand-selected by the people in the portraits.

As it turns out, some of it is true. If you feel like one portrait in particular bears a striking resemblance to Solange Knowles, that's because Ojih Odutola and Knowles are friends, and the artist is known for basing her portraiture, at least in part, on the various people in her life. The figures then, are like composite tributes — new people made from many. It's a small show — maybe a dozen drawings — but walking through the first-floor gallery, it feels like visiting a secret world, a vault filled with history. Tall, arching images of brown-skinned royalty who are filled with determination and wandering through dislocation and ownership in Lagos, Nigeria.   

Toyin Ojih Odutola's "Wall of Ambassadors (2017)."

(Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York./Whitney Museum of American Art)