devil's pie.

Before heading to work, I decided to drop by to David Zwirner and catch Chris Ofili's Devil's Pie. Chris Ofili is one of those YBAs and has been infamous (in a good way) for making then NY Mayor Gulliani wanting to shut down the Brooklyn Museum for "lewd work". Elephant dung, Virgin Mary imagery and vagina cut-outs from pornographic magazines. Whatevs, Ofili is a fave of mine.

Whats interesting in his current show is that he dropped the elephant dung element of his work, entirely. A distinct element that points to Ofili's work: ELEPHANT DUNG = CHRIS OFILI PAINTING to be blunt about it.

So I was very excited and eager to see this show (which closes this Saturday) knowing the change in his work. Just how many artists do we know depart from something that has made them famous, better yet they are famous for. Last time I've seen an actual work of his was back in 2001(?!) at an auction house preview of contemporary work in NY. His work "Foxy Roxy" was up for bid along Damien Hirst's spot paintings among others. "Foxy Roxy" was glossy (from resin) and glittered. It was an image of a black woman (a stripper) with white tits collaged with boob cut-outs from magazines. It was really rich, layer and imagery wise, i loved it.

His works at Devil's Pie was composed of mural sized paintings, drawings, smaller paintings and two gigantic bronze sculptures. The paintings were no longer covered in glitter and resin. Cut-outs and elephant dung aside, everything was flat as as 2D could be. His works were still funny and his "afro" imagery was there too. The colors were rich and bright. A totally different style, because sometimes upon first glance of a work it looked as if it was abstract. Organic shapes twisting with each other. Only do you realize that the organic shape is actually a torso.

I wouldn't say that his current work is better than his famous earlier style. However both share the same level of attraction to me imho. I would say that both styles were a reflection of what it was and what it is (what ever that was in his head) today. What is so inspiring is his shift. You could definitely distinguish between an Ofili of the YBA emergence and what he has shown currently. However you can never deny the distinct Ofili in either one of them, which is amazing. Some artists shift their work and sometimes its confusing, Ofili's is different. His style is present in both.

I'm not sure if other artists are conscious about what to do next in their work? Its sometimes quite difficult to stay in a linear pattern... that I think is boring. Growth is quite important, to me atleast. Growth means advancement and birth of ideas not to mention staying power. These are things I try to strive for in a career I have chosen. Ayoko naman mag-paint ng iisang bagay lang, parang ang baduy kaya non.

I'm really glad to have viewed Ofili's works, as he has definitely inspired me not only to paint more but to not to fear of moving forward with new ideas as well.

Side note. Sana yung Murakami show sa MOCA eh dumating din sa NY. Highly unlikely. Gusto ko pa naman makita yung new works niya at yung pop-up LV store. I heard there has been a feeding frenzy over anything Murakami and Vuitton at the exhibition. (Lord please give me a ticket to L.A.)