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h o m e


Odili Donald Odita
CV

Born in 1966 in Enugu, Nigeria, Odita has lives in the United States.
1990, Masters of Fine Art, Bennington College, Vermont. Major in Painting, Minor in sculpture and drawing.
1988, Bachelors of Fine Art (with distinction), Ohio State University; Excellence in the Arts Award, Major in Painting, Minor in Printmaking and Drawing

Solo exhibitions

2008

One-Person Exhibition, Center for Contemporary Art, Turin, Italy
One-Person Exhibition, The Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Paper Trail II: Passing Through Clouds, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, The Herbert and Mildred Lee Gallery, Waltham, Massachusetts, Curated by Odili Donald Odita Studio Museum in Harlem, Project Room, New York

2007

Equalizer, Studio Museum in Harlem, Project Room, New York
FLOW, Contemporary Art Center, CAC Kaplan Hall, Cincinnati

2006

Fusion,Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

2005

Paradise, Wertz Contemporary, Atlanta, Georgia

2004

The Third Eye, Haunch of Vension (Galerie Judin Belot), Zurich, Switzerland
New Work, Galerie Schuster, Frankfurt, Germany, catalogue available
Notes From Paradise, Florence Lynch Gallery, New York

2003

RESISTANCE, Matrix Art Project, Brussels, Belgium
Transformer, Hospitalhof, Stuttgart, Germany
New Work, Schmidt Contemporary Art, St. Louis, Missouri

2002

Art Statements with Florence Lynch Gallery, Art Basel Miami Beach, Florida
New Work, Galerie Schustser & Scheuermann, Berlin, Germany
New Work, Galerie Schuster, Frankfurt, Germany
Interlude,WINTERGARTEN, Vienna, Austria, curated by Bettina Muller-Schelken
New Works, Miami Art Museum, Florida, curated by Cheryl Hartup

2001

LIFE, Riva Gallery, New York, New York
Paintings & Drawings, Florence Lynch Gallery, New York, catalogue available

2000

Transfers/Odyssey, Kunsthalle, St. Gallen, Switzerland, curated by Dorothea Strauss
Passport, Jenn Joy Gallery, San Francisco, California
New Work, Hofstra University, Alex Rosenberg Art Gallery, Calkins Hall, New York

1999

Color Theory, Florence Lynch Gallery, New York, New York
The Invisible Empire, Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

1992

The Jaws of Domesticity, der KIOSK, St. Gallen, Switzerland, catalogue available

Selected group exhibitions

2009

Contemporary Art of Africa and the African Diaspora, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, curated by Carol Thompson, catalogue available

2007

Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and the Diaspora, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
52nd Venice Biennale, International Art Exhibition,Think With The Senses, Feel With the Mind, Curated by Robert Storr, catalogue available.
The Color Line, Jack Shainman Gallery, NYC; CIEL, Centre international d'exposition de Larouche, Canada; Johannesburg Art Gallery; Curated by Odili Donald Odita; Catalogue available.
Contemporary Art of Africa and the African Diaspora, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, curated by Carol Thompson, catalogue available.
Exquisite Crisis and Encounters, Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU, New York, Curated by Yong Soon Min

2006

Luanda Triennale 2006;The Triennale of Luanda, Angola, catalogue available
Ordering & Seduction, Haus Konstruktive, Zurich, Switzerland, curated by Dorothea Strauss
Distant Relatives, Relative Distance, Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town; Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, catalogue available
The Beautiful Game, Roebling Hall, Brooklyn and New York, curated by Trevor Schoonmaker and Franklin Sirmans
Holy Land: Diaspora and the Desert, Heard Museum of Native American Art, Phoenix, curated by Lara Taubman
Nederland 1, Museum Gouda, Gouda, The Netherlands, curated by Tiong Ang
Parallel Economies, Wertz Contemporary, Atlanta

2005

Round Leather Worlds, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, curated by Dorothea Strauss, catalogue available
The Shape of Colour: Excursions in Colour Field Art, 1950-2005, Art Gallery of Ontario, curated by David Moos, catalogue available
Surface Charge, Virginia Commonwealth University Museum, Richmond. Curated by Gregory Volk and Sabine Russ, catalogue available
A Warlike People: Victims or Perpetrators, Monorchid Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona, curated by Lara Taubman

2004

UnStaged,Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, curated by Charlie Citron
DAK'ART 2004 - Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art; North American representative in Diaspora section curated by Ivo Mesquita, catalogue available
ANTHOLOGY OF ART, School of Fine Arts, Braunschweig; Visual Arts Department, University of Rennes; Art History Department, University of Budapest; Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin; Zentrum fur Medienkunst, Karlsruh; Manifest/Symposium, Akademie der Künste, Berlin; the Neuhardenberg Foundation, Berlin; Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, catalogue available
Flipside, Artists Space, New York, curated by Katherine Carl and Fritzie Brown, catalogue available
Visualizing Diaspora/Constructing Self, GASP, Boston, curated by Magda Campos-Pons
Transit: Abstracting the System,City Gallery at Chastain, Atlanta, Georgia
Home Extension, University Art Museum, Albany, New York, curated by Gregory Volk and Sabine Russ, catalogue available

2003

Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis; Purnell Center for the Arts, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston, curated by Shannon Fitzgerald & Tumelo Mosaka, catalogue available
Black President, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Barbican Art Galleries, London; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, curated by Trevor Schoonmaker, catalogue available
After Matisse & Picasso, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York
Art Positions with Kevin Bruk Gallery, Art Basel Miami Beach, Florida
Yellow Pages, Turm Gallery, Helmstedt, Germany, curated by John Armleder & the 404 Team

2002

Collection in Context, The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York
Miami Currents, Miami Art Museum, Florida
The Fields' Edge: Africa, Diaspora, Lens, University of South Florida, Tampa, curated by Rory Bester & Amanda Carlson
Painting As Paradox, Artist Space, New York, curated Lauri Firstenberg, catalogue available
Peculiarly Pink, LUXE, New York
Irrational Propositions,POST, Los Angeles, California, curated by Habib Kheradyar
Pictures, Greene/Naftali Inc., New York

2001

Here And Now, Zacheta National Gallery, Warsaw, & Galeria Arsenal, Bialystok, Poland, catalogue available
Group Show, Kjbuh Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany, represented by Florence Lynch Gallery
Out of America, Galerie Schuster & Scheuermann, Frankfurt & Berlin, Germany
Five Continents & One City, 3rd International Salon of Painting, Museum of Mexico City, Africa Section, curated by Olu Oguibe, catalogue available Against the Wall: Painting Against the Grid, Surface and Frame, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, curated by Karen E. Jones
Material and Matter, The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, curated by Thelma Golden & Christine Y. Kim
Chelsea Rising, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, curated by David Rubin, catalogue available
Pleasures of Sight and States of Being: Radical Abstract Painting, Museum of Fine Arts, FSU, and The Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, Florida, curated by Dr. Roald Nasgaard, catalogue available

2000

Transcending The Norm And Some, New Jersey City University, Lemmerman Gallery, New Jersey, Jersey City

1999

Zeitwenden: Ausblick Ruckblick--(Jet Lag Experiment), Museum of Modern Art, Bonn, and Museum of Modern Art, Vienna
IN-VISIBLE: Abstractions & Narratives, Arsenal Gallery, Bialystok, Poland
Kunstmarkt, Residenzschloss Dresden, Dresden, Germany, represented by Florence Lynch Gallery
Outside Edge: A Survey, Unversite de Paris 1, Pantheon, La Sorbonne, Paris, France
4X4; Alexandre de Folin Gallery, New York
Ideoscape, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, curated by Shelly Bancroft and Edmund Barry Gaither
Civil Sex, (First Stages Collaboration w/ Brian Freeman), Public Theater, Shiva Gallery, New York
Vanishing Pt., Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, curated by Margaret Evangeline
You Are Here, Matrix Art Project (MAP), New York, curated by Jesus Polanco

1998

ART/OMI, International Artist Residency Exhibition, Ghent, New York
Crossing Lines, Art-In-General, New York

1997

2ND JOHANNESBURG BIENNALE 1997, SOUTH AFRICA, Projects Section: Billboard & Bus Shelter Posters, curated by Okwui Enwezor, catalogue available,br> Diversity In Contemporary Africa: Survey Exhibition of Contemporary African Art, The Ohio State University, Ohio, curated by Okechukwu E. Odita, catalogue available,br> REALLY, UnFinished Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, curated by Odili Donald Odita
Interior-Life, RUSH ARTS, New York, with Bili Bidjocka, Senga Nengudi, Jocelyn Taylor, & Fred Wilson, curated by Odili Donald Odita, catalogue available
Aphrodisia, The Alternative Museum; New York

1996

Something I Saw In Brooklyn..., Galerie Elizabeth Valleix, Paris, France
ONE, RUSH Fine Arts, New York, curated by Reneé Cox,br> At the Foreground of Paths, Skoto Gallery, New York

1995

Modern Life, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, in conjunction with Newark Museum, New Jersey, curated by Okwui Enwezor and Carl Hazlewood
Stitches, FOUR WALLS, November 12, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, writer/artist collaboration with Adnan Ashraf, publication available
GOTCHA!, Momenta Art, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, curated by Odili Donald Odita, catalogue available
CELEBRITY'Hood, Longwood Arts Project, Bronx Council on the Arts, Bronx, curated by Betti-Sue Hertz
Either/Or, Flamingo East, New York, curated by Kenny Schachter
Other Rooms, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York, represented by Momenta Art & Pierogi 2000
Split-Level, Art-In-General, New York
Unfolding Stories, John Jay College of Art, Music & Philosophy, City University of New York
Pseudo Museum, Jupiter Interactive Productions, New York, concurrent exhibition on-line, curated by Alfredo Martinez.

1994

The Third Forum of Visual Art, Museum of Art, Brasilia, Brazil, catalogue available
FIReD: a late nite comedy show, THICKET, New York, No BIAS, North Bennington, Vermont, curated by Odili Donald Odita, catalogue available
Go Back and Fetch It (It Means Sankofa), Gallery ANNEXT and RUSH Fine Arts Management, New York

1993

FIAR INTERNATIONAL PRIZE- Art Under 30 (1991-1993), Milan, Rome, Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York; National Academy of Design, New York selection curated by Dan Cameron, catalogue available
Trespass-Beyond Borders, Right Bank Gallery, Brooklyn, curated by Odili Donald Odita.
A Grand Tour, Swiss Institute, New York, curated by Ingrid Schaffner

1992

Without A Notion (A Painting Show), 88 Room, Boston, curated by Winston C. Robinson

Awards

International

2007

Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant

2004

The Thami Mnyele Residency Foundation Grant for African Artists, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Summer 2004

1999

Reithalle Artist Residency, St. Gallen, Switzerland

1998

ART/OMI- International Artist Residency, Omi, New York

National

2001

The Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painting and Sculpture, New York, New York

2000

Nomination for Best Show of the Year for "Color Theory"at the Florence Lynch Gallery, by the International Association of Art Critics in New York
ArtsLink Collaborative Projects Award in Warsaw, Poland for exhibition, "Here & Now"

1994

Penny McCall Foundation Grant, New York, New York

Collections

The American Council on Education, Washington, D.C.
The Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama
The Miami Art Museum, Florida
The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, New York

Bibliography

2007

Olu Oguibe, Frieze Magazine, No. 104, January-February 2007, pp. 14-15, 132, 137.

2006

Jerry Cullum, "No-Frills Cultural Comment," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 5, 2006

2005

Stephen Maine, Art in America, June/July 2005, pp. 183-184.
Cathy Fox, Odili Donald Odita, Re-Envisioning Nigeria: Artist Limns Dreams, Nightmares of Native Nigeria, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 1, 2005
Micah Malone, "Visualizing Diaspora/Constructing Self," Art Papers, March/April 2005, p. 48
Martha Schwendener, Goings On About Town, The New Yorker, January 3, 2005, p. 14

2004

Ken Johnson, "Notes From Paradise," The New York Times, The Listings, November-December 2004
Olu Oguibe, "Artists on Artists," BOMB Magazine, No. 89, Fall 2004, pp. 8-9.
David Carrier, "A Fiction of Authenticity," Art Forum, Vol. 43, No. 7, March 2004, p. 188
Alice Thorson, "A Fiction of Authenticity," Art News, Vol. 103, No. 4, April 2004, p. 123
Ivy Cooper, "A Fiction of Authenticity," Art Papers, Vol. 28, No. 1, January-February 2004, p. 52

2003

Jeffrey Hughes, "A Fiction of Authenticity," Flash Art International, Vol. 36, No. 233, November-December 2003, p. 44
Ann Wilson Lloyd, "Two Different Museums Meet in St. Louis," The New York Times, October 12, 2003, p. 33
Courtney J. Martin, "Black President," Flash Art International, Vol. 36, No. 232, October 2003, pp. 56-57
Carol Schwarzman, "New York, New York," Art Papers, Vol. 27, No. 5, September-October 2003, p. 50
David Bonetti, "Front Page: Contemporary Art's New Home in St. Louis," Art In America, November 2003, p. 49
Barbara Pollack, "The Afrobeat Generation," The Village Voice, July 23, 2003
Holland Cotter, "King of Music (and of All He Surveyed)," The New York Times, July 18, 2003

2002

Painting as Paradox, Tema Celeste, Vol. 19, No. 94, November-December, 2002, p.111
Michelle Weinberg, MAM, Tema Celeste, Vol. 19, No. 94, November-December, 2002, p. 88
Gean Moreno, MAM, Flash Art International, Vol. 34, No. 226, October, 2002
Holland Cotter, "The New Season / Art", The New York Times, September 8, 2002
Elisa Turner, Miami Herald, Visual Arts Section, Sunday, September 8, 2002
Edited by Subotnick Ali, Massimiliano Gioni and Maurizio Cattelan, Charley 01, 2002
Derek Murray, "New York Scene," The International Review of African American Art, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2002, pp. 54-56
Gregory Volk, Art in America, May 2002, pp. 147-148
Johannes Wendland, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, April 3, 2002
Dorothee Baer-Bogenschutz, Frankfurter Rundschau, Kulturspiegel, February 27, 2002
Michael M. Thoss, "Afro-American Postmodernism," exhibition introductory statement, Berlin, March 2002
Nicole Scheyerer, Kunst Kurz, Vienna, Austria, February 2002

2001

Deborah Frizzell, NY Arts, December 2001, pp. 10-11
Holland Cotter, The New York Times, ("LIFE" at Riva Gallery/Florence Lynch Gallery), Nov. 16, 2001. p. E32
Barbara Pollack, "The Newest Avant-Garde," Art News, Vol. 100, No. 4, April 2001, pp. 124-129
Holland Cotter, "Material and Matter," The New York Times, March 9, 2001
Ariella Budick, "No Matter What They Use, It's a Work of Art," Newsday, February 9, 2001
Franklin Sirmans, "Material and Matter," Time Out New York, Art Section, March 1-8, 2001, Issue No. 284
Santiago Espinosa de los Monteros, "Five Continents & One City," Art Nexus, No. 39, February-April 2001, pp. 108-110
Steven Vincent, "The Flat Pack," Art & Auction, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2001, pp. 90-97.

2000

Gerhard Mack, "Vom Verlust des Fremden," (Transfers/Odyssey), Tagblatt, St. Gallen, October 24, 2000, p. 21
Denise Carvalho, "Color Theory," NKA, Journal of Contemporary African Art, Number 11/12, Fall/Winter 2000, pp. 22-23
Sylvie Fortin, "The Invisible Empire," NKA, Journal of Contemporary African Art, Number 11/12 Fall/Winter 2000, pp. 18-21
Calvin Reid, "How We Got To Now," The International Review of African American Art, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2000, p. 27
Horace Brockington, "After Representation," The International Review of African American Art, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2000, p. 52
Barry Schwabsky, "Transcending the Norm and Some," The New York Times, On the Towns, January 23, 2000
Lauri Firstenberg, "African Experiences," Flash Art International, Vol. 33, No. 210, January-February 2000, pp. 68-70
Nadine Kibanda, "Color Theory," Flash Art Magazine Online, www.flashartmagazine.com/exclusive/odita.html
Neyda Martinez, "Color Theory," POSTMEDIA, http://www.oasinet.com/postmedia/art/odita.htm

1999

Denise Carlvalho, "At Arsenal," Flash Art International, Vol. 32, No. 209, November-December 1999, p. 63
"At the Galleries," Flash Art International, Vol. 32, No. 209, November-December 1999, p. 60.
Max Henry, "Color Theory," ARTNET.COM, http://artnet.com/magazine/reviews/henry/henry
Franklin Sirmans, "Color Theory," Time Out New York, Art Section, November 4-11, 1999, Issue No. 215, p. 68
Michael Rush, "Color Theory," Review Magazine, November 1, 1999, pp. 14-15
Lilly Wei, "IN-VISIBLE: Abstraction and Narratives," exhibition essay, September 1999
Franklin Sirmans, "Visual Arts Roundtable," The ILM A -List, April/May, 1999, pp. 12-15
Carl Hazlewood, "Crossing Lines" Art Papers Magazine, May/June, 1999, pp. 46-47
Michael Rush, "Vanishing Point at Cynthia Broan," Review Magazine, April 1, 1999, pp. 112-113
Anita Euteneier, "Painter Writes on Black Body (The Invisible Empire)," Capital City, Feb., 1999, p. 19
Franklin Sirmans, "Empty Signifiers and the Loaded Void," exhibition essay (The Invisible Empire), January, 1999
Carl Hazlewood, "Crossing Lines," POSTMEDIA (www), January, 1999

1998

Jennifer Dalton, "Crossing Lines," The Tribeca Trib, Volume 5, Number 4, December 1998, p. 42
Annie Provo, "On View: Williamsburg Brooklyn," (REALLY), New Art Examiner, July/August, 1998, p. 44
Calvin Reid, "REALLY," artwURL, (www), March-April, 1998

1997

Gordon Haist, "The Familiar and the Unthought;" (REALLY), Elenchus: The Journal of the Society for Philosophical Inquiry, Volume II, Issue I, 1997, pp. 8-9
"REALLY," Waterfront Week, Volume 7, Number 24, Dec 1997, p. 4
International Art Tour: Johannesburg Biennale; People Page (World Wide Web), The New School, 1997
Carl Hazlewood, "Interior-Life Contests Conservatism," Flash Art International, Volume 30, Number 197, November-December, 1997, p. 57
"At The Galleries: RUSH Arts," Flash Art International, Volume 30, Number 196, October, 1997, p. 57
Okwui Enwezor, "Neglected Artform or Poor Relation?," Contemporary South African Art: The Gencor Collection, 1997, pp. 65-79
Susan Canning, "Studio View," New Art Examiner, April, 1997, p. 40
Betti-Sue Hertz, "CELEBRITY'Hood," Longwood Arts Council/Bronx, Manual 1995-97

1996

"Artist Spotlight;" Arude Magazine, Volume 2, Number 5, Fall Issue, 1996, p. 14
Olu Oquibe, "Guest of the Month," Dr. Olu Oguibe Homepage, (World Wide Web), November 1996
"Split-Level;" Art-In-General, Manual 1994-95, Annual exhibitions catalogue
Okwui Enwezor & Octavio Zaya, "Moving-In," Flash Art International, Volume 29, Number 186, January-February 1996, pp. 84-89
"GOTCHA!," Columbus Alive, January 31 - February 6, 1996
Geoffrey Jacques, "GOTCHA!," Cover Magazine, Volume 10, Number 1, Holiday Issue, 1996

1995

"Artist Spotlight;" Arude Magazine, Volume 2, Number 5, Fall Issue, 1996, p. 14
Olu Oquibe, "Guest of the Month," Dr. Olu Oguibe Homepage, (World Wide Web), November 1996
"Split-Level;" Art-In-General, Manual 1994-95, Annual exhibitions catalogue
Okwui Enwezor & Octavio Zaya, "Moving-In," Flash Art International, Volume 29, Number 186, January-February 1996, pp. 84-89
"GOTCHA!," Columbus Alive, January 31 - February 6, 1996
Geoffrey Jacques, "GOTCHA!," Cover Magazine, Volume 10, Number 1, Holiday Issue, 1996

1994

"FIReD: a late nite comedy shOw;" The Bennington Banner, October 6, 1994
Portfolio Page; A Gathering of the TRIBES, Volume 4, Number 1, 1994

1993

Stuart Nicholson, "The Critics Choose;" Cover Magazine, Volume 7, Number 7, October, 1993
"der KIOSK," Catalogue for KIOSK Project, St. Gallen, Switzerland, August 1991-1992
Dan Cameron, "The Dowager Queen," FIAR INTERNATIONAL PRIZE- Art Under 30
Milan, Rome, Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York, 1991-1993. Catalogue for traveling exhibition

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