Abe Odedina: Birds of Paradise, Copeland Gallery, London (Apr-May 2019)

Spectacular, iridescent plumage with elaborate, elongated tails – these striking features distinguish birds of paradise, and their eponymous blossoms. These creatures are all unique, express themselves fully, and are quite simply a celebration of just being alive.

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Birds of Paradise is the second comprehensive installation of a major series of paintings by Abe Odedina presented by Ed Cross Fine Art and curated by Katherine Finerty at Copeland Gallery. This new body of work is a salutation to all that birds of paradise represent: the importance of never forgetting that humanity is magnificent and enduring, no matter how shrivelled or shrunken we may feel personally and collectively. In a moment where notions of paradise might seem more tenuous and far away from reality than ever, these landscapes, portraits, and stories remind us to become reattached in the face of cacophony. They inspire us to fight back with a tender sense of respect, a curious penchant for listening, and an effortless sense of seduction – basically and blissfully: to live our best lives. This exhibition takes us on a journey of diverse interpretations of paradise that prioritise humanity and the universal search for fulfilment. Paradise can mean a myriad of things to any given individual, yet we’re all wired to think of it, crave it, need it. From surrealist landscapes to everyday domestic settings, Odedina’s works make it clear that whilst paradise is far from perfection, it is filled with possibility and thus more than just a mirage of hope. (Photo credit: Courtesy of Gallery Ed Cross Fine Art & Abe Odedina)

1-54 Lounge Commission: Shiraz Bayjoo - Indian Ocean Archive, Somerset House (Oct 2018)

Bayjoo’s research-based, multimedia practice explores the legacy of colonialism across the Indian Ocean and its complex histories of slavery, migrations, and expansion.

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The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair’s 2018 Lounge Commission 2018 at Somerset House is Shiraz Bayjoo – Indian Ocean Archive, presented by Ed Cross Fine Art and curated by Katherine Finerty. Indian Ocean Archive presents a selection of ceramics, paintings, photographs, videos, furniture, and archival materials bridging early colonial explorations and post-war independence movements. The lounge creates a lagoon-like oasis for visitors to rest, converse, and contemplate the unparalleled coastal movements of people and cultures. Vibrant, specially designed stools and chairs bearing iconic emblems of the East India Company are scattered throughout for us to ponder and perch upon, allowing us to submerge into a central space for gathering where the centre can be re-shifted and the periphery empowered.

Abe Odedina: True Love, The Department Store Brixton, London (Sept 2018)

For the London Design Festival 2018, Squire & Partners in collaboration with ECFA and Dramatic Need present Abe Odedina’s Carnegie Hall set design commission.

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TRUE LOVE, a solo exhibition of paintings by artist Abe Odedina in collaboration with Ed Cross Fine Art and Dramatic Need, curated by Katherine Finerty. This is the world premiere of a series of paintings commissioned in 2016 by Danny Boyle and the South African charity Dramatic Need. Each work is Odedina’s personal response to monologues written by young people, from testimonies of traumatic loss to tales of exhilarating first love. The paintings on display ultimately culminated in animated set designs for The Children’s Monologues performed at Carnegie Hall in New York last November. Now, lovingly, these works are shown together for the first time in the artist’s home neighbourhood, and in a set of limed editions prints with 10% of the proceeds going to Dramatic Need.

EYE TO EYE: Abe Odedina, Copeland Gallery, London (Nov-Dec 2016)

EYE TO EYE hosts a community of figurative characters who come to live in the good company of others ready to converse and connect.

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EYE TO EYE features new paintings by Abe Odedina (b. 1960 Nigeria, lives in London and Brazil) in association with Ed Cross Fine Art. Odedina describes himself as a folk artist and his practice is inspired by the rich figurative and oral traditions of African art, infused with a trace of magic realism. He seeks to revive and deconstruct quintessential classical themes spanning from ancient Greek to Yoruba mythologies, bridging gaps between history, mythology, and the everyday. The resulting world is vibrantly operative whilst intimately accessible. It is a world that founded upon and open to all peoples, places, and possibilities.

International Art Fairs

Bespoke curation for 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Art Paris, London Art Fair, Unseen Amsterdam, If So What? Los Angeles, and more.

Commissioned to write texts and curate solo & group exhibition of artists presented by Ed Cross Fine Art art fairs.

Collaborates with artists including: Tiffanie Delune, Kimathi Donkor, Modupeola Fadugba, Mário Macilau, Abe Odedina, and Richard Smith, amongst others.