Toyin Ojih Odutola

Ilé Oriaku

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, detail view, in: Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Don’t Be Afraid; Use What I Gave You, 2023, installation view, in: Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, When Past Meets Future, Will They Speak the Same Language? (Who Are You? / Mother?), 2023, installation view, in: Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Opin ọjọ (EOD–End of Day), 2022-23, installation view, in: Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

Toyin Ojih Odutola, Ilé Oriaku, exhibition view, Kunsthalle Basel, 2024, photo: Philipp Hänger / Kunsthalle Basel

For her first institutional solo exhibition in Switzerland, Nigerian-born artist Toyin Ojih Odutola (*1985) presents a captivating body of works consisting exclusively of newly drawn pieces. The results suggest that she is, in fact, part storyteller, part theater-maker, conjuring inspiring tableaux vivants using charcoal, pastel, and pencil. These impressive artworks, drawn on paper, gessoed linen, or canvas board, use her exceptional artistic practice to explore the effects and various forms of language. In those moments when words seem insufficient, other forms of expression emerge, forgoing a powerful connection, as she unveils in her vibrant imagined worlds.

Exhibition text (PDF)