Jadé Fadojutimi’s exhibition at Gagosian is a testament to her continued exploration of identity, emotion, and experience through abstraction. Her unique language distills sensations and conveys emotions, creating a cosmic realm of connection that transcends boundaries.
‘The Goosebump in Memory’: An Interview With Artist Jadé Fadojutimi
Interview with Jadé Fadojutimi: Exploring Identity and Emotion Through Abstraction
Jadé Fadojutimi’s work oscillates between two approaches to abstraction, which she defines as spiritual and lyrical, and expressive and physical. Her paintings blend these approaches, creating a unique language that distills sensations and conveys emotions.
The title of her exhibition, ‘A Goosebump in Memory,’ reflects the connection between her paintings and the memory process. Fadojutimi uses color, space, and line to explore identity through emotions and experiences, creating a cosmic realm of connection that transcends linguistic, cultural, and individual boundaries.
Fadojutimi’s painting process begins with an open and diverse approach, experimenting with liquid as the main ingredient besides paint. She may start from a drawing or composition, transposing its essence onto the canvas, and then responding to the painting as a separate work. The accumulation of painterly gestures and brushstrokes is intense but largely spontaneous.
Fadojutimi decides when a painting is complete by spending time with her work as a viewer rather than an artist. She looks for qualities that indicate the work is finished, such as a sense of balance and harmony between colors and marks. Ultimately, she believes there is always a point where an artist must surrender their role to the work.
Fadojutimi’s work reflects her desire to express and translate a more transient approach to questioning identity through attempts to blur and blend life experiences into a permanent visual conversation. The paintings in ‘DWELVE’ capture those ‘goosebump’ worthy events that she wants to dwell upon permanently with the viewer, creating a rich palimpsest of how memory and the mind operate.
Jadé Fadojutimi’s exhibition at Gagosian is a testament to her continued exploration of identity, emotion, and experience through abstraction. Her unique language distills sensations and conveys emotions, creating a cosmic realm of connection that transcends boundaries. The paintings in ‘DWELVE’ are a reflection of her desire to capture the essence of her notebooks and translate them into a permanent visual conversation.
An Exploration of Identity, Emotion, and Experience Through Abstraction
Fadojutimi’s ascent to contemporary art stardom has been meteoric. Her abstract paintings—crafted by the 31-year-old British artist of Nigerian heritage—have entered major collections worldwide, with auction prices soaring into the seven-digit range. Her record, set last March at Christie’s London, saw The Woven Warped Garden of Ponder (2021) fetch £1.6 million ($2 million), tripling earlier results and affirming her place as one of the brightest lights in today’s art world.
DWELVE: A Goosebump in Memory marks the first time Fadojutimi has incorporated the idea of a soundtrack into an exhibition. Her paintings are an intricate tapestry of marks, gestures, and flowing tides of paint, born from an immersive emotional and physical connection with the canvas.
Jadé Fadojutimi’s work retains its raw, pulsating vitality—a deeply personal yet universally resonant exploration of self-knowledge. Her paintings evoke a visceral reaction to their powerful resonance, creating a palpable tension between layers and traces that alternately harmonize or clash. As DWELVE: A Goosebump in Memory nears its final weeks, Fadojutimi’s continued exploration of identity, emotion, and experience through abstraction leaves an indelible mark on the contemporary art world.
Exhibition Details
-
Location: Gagosian, New York
-
Duration: Through December 21
Artist Bio
Jadé Fadojutimi is a British artist of Nigerian heritage known for her dynamic abstractions that weave gestures and chromatic sensations into a vivid reflection of our multifaceted physical, temporal, psychological, and energetic experiences.
