Yinka Shonibare, Black Gold I, 2006
From the National Museum of African Art:
Shonibare’s early paintings—including Double Dutch (1994) on view on sublevel 2—comprise small square canvases presented in a grid format upon a square or rectangular background color. More recently, they have featured small roundels on circular or oval painted backgrounds; and his latest works, with their glistening black splatter forms across the gallery wall, break down the idea of the border or edge altogether. Referencing “black gold,” or Africa’s rich oil resources, splatter paintings such as this one also recall the extravagant splashes and drips of the American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock—to which they form a playful response.
