Blend in - Stand out (© 2019 Njideka Akunyili. All rights reserved. Courtesy the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner)
Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Blend in — Stand out
(2019) Acrylic, colored pencil, charcoal, & photographic transfers on paper
Njideka Akunyili Crosby combines painting, collage, printmaking, drawing, & the technique of photo transfer in ways bold & new; imagining life in both the United States and Nigeria at once. Inventive, intimate, deliberate, her work tells stories not often told. Themes of immigrant longing, exploration, grief & joy are conveyed with great skill & heart.
“You don’t have to give up your culture. You just carry the stories that you brought with you and exist next to other people, and it actually makes for a richer world." —Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Photo credit: Brigitte SireNjideka Akunyili Crosby
Njideka Akunyili Crosby was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1983 & currently lives & works in Los Angeles. She was a participant in La Biennale di Venezia, 58th International Art Exhibition, May You Live In Interesting Times, curated by Ralph Rugoff (11 May - 24 November 2019). Recent solo exhibitions include Njideka Akunyili Crosby: “The Beautyful Ones", The National Portrait Gallery, London (2018-19) & Counterparts, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX (2018-19), Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (2017-18). She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree from University of the Arts (2020), an Honorary Doctorate of Art from Swarthmore College (2019), a MacArthur Fellowship (2017), & a United Sates Artist Fellowship (2021). Akunyili Crosby’s work is held in significant museum collections throughout the world.