London, painter
abi ola
biography
exhibitions
Abi Ola specializes in painting, drawing, screen printing, collaging, batik, and textiles. Her artwork focuses on shapes and patterns. The young artist gets inspiration from old photographs, fabrics that she finds at home, and visits to various exhibitions. For example, oceanic art from the Royal Academy of Arts, African textiles from the British Museum, and William Morris wallpaper designs. When painting the figures based on old photographs the artist realized that she was much more interested in the shapes and patterns found in their clothes than the figures themselves. She began to focus on the shapes and patterns and create her own pattern designs in her paintings. The artist uses the pattern reference as mentioned above as sources to explore her identity, being West African, and living in Britain. For example, some of the patterns come from Nigerian traditional attire, worn by her father, while others are floral patterns that Ola’s mother wore, typically associated with British textiles. “My patterns go beyond two dimensional paintings, they also find their way onto the interior design of buildings, clothes, and skin. This is a way for me to completely envelop myself and the viewer within my world of patterns.
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Slade 150th Anniversary Octagon Gallery Exhibition
Ingram Prize Finalists' Exhibition, Unit 1 Gallery
Saatchi London Grads Now
End Of Year Degree Show, The Slade School Of Fine Art
The Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize short-list exhibition - Coventry Cathedral
Kupfer, The Gaze Is A Singular Act, London
The Old Biscuit Factory, London
The Chaplin Centre, ASC Gallery, London
Parallax Art Fair
8496 Collective, International Youths Arts Centre, London
End Of Year Degree Show, Goldsmiths, University Of London
The Genesis Cinema, London
Ephemeral Exhibition, London
Contemporary Water Colour Competition, Bankside Gallery, London