Chioma Ebinama
Watercolor, sumi ink, and coffee on paper
30.48 x 64.14cm
12.00 x 25.25 in
Chioma Ebinama
Born in 1988 in Maryland, United States
Lives and works in Athens, Greece
Chioma Ebinama is a Nigerian-American artist interested in how animism, mythology, and pre-colonial philosophies present a space to articulate a vision of freedom outside of Western social and political paradigms. Her practice is centered around watercolors on paper, which explore drawing and visual narrative as a meditative practice and tool for self-liberation. Her work is influenced by a myriad of sources, from West African cosmology to folk art of the global South, to the visual language of Western religion and Eastern spiritual traditions. This collision of aesthetics is indicative of Ebinama’s nomadic life, wherein her travels, she has collaborated with local artists to make textiles, sculptures, and wearable art. Born in Baltimore, Maryland (1988), Ebinama currently lives and works in Athens, Greece.
Ebinama has mounted solo exhibitions at Catinca Tabacaru in New York City (2018), Boys’ Quarters Project Space in Port Harcourt, Nigeria (2019), Fortnight Institute NYC (2020), and The Breeder in Athens (2020). In 2021, she mounted a solo in Bucharest with Catinca Tabacaru and currently takes part in The Serpent’s Eye at the Musée d’Art Contemporain de la Haute- Vienne in France. Her upcoming projects in 2021 include a solo with Maureen Paley in London and a solo at Salon 94 in New York. Her work has been acquired by foundations and collections internationally and makes part of the permanent collection of the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM).
Body Full of Stars , New York
June 21 - July 28, 2023
2023
Rujeko Hockley’s Top Picks From Frieze Los Angeles Viewing Room 2023, frieze.com, 14 February 2023
2022
Krauss, Jennifer, The Best Children’s Books of 2022, nytimes.com, 8 December 2022
Judah, Hettie, Hollow Earth review – digging deep into the curious history of caves in art, theguardian.com, 21 October 2022
Durón, Maximilíano, Worlds Collide as Galleries Converge for an Art and Design Fair in the Heart of Paris, 20 October 2022
Listen to a Future Fable From Lydia Millet: “The Butterfly Man”, lithub.com, 11 October 2022
Woodcock, Victoria, Artist Tschabalala Self: ‘I tend to be a bit nosy’, ft.com, 30 September 2022
Austin, Nwakunor, Gregory, Prempeh In You Were, You Are, And you Always Will Be, guardian.ng, 11 September 2022
Berry, Kate; Hilmer, Georgia, Two Creative Couples Call This Delaware County Former Schoolhouse Home, domino.com, 9 September 2022
Hilmer, Georgia; Illus. Ebinama, Chioma, FLORA-Z, Planterdoos Press, Printed by Brilliant Graphics, 31 August 2022
Dawson, Janet, Emile and the Field by Kevin Young illustrated by Chioma Ebinama, kidsbooksaday.com, 23 August 2022
Hays, Gregory, The Last Reversal, nybooks.com, 18 August 2022
Wetter, Erica, Spring 2022 Flying Starts: Chioma Ebinama, publishersweekly.com, 24 June 2022
Female Artists Showcase Skills In The Company She Keps, tribuneonlineng.com, 5 June 2022
Children’s Books to Celebrate Easter, Passover, and Spring 2022, publishersweekly.com, 28 March 2022
Krauss, Jennifer, Stop and Smell the Roses, nytimes.com, 1 April 2022
Young, Kevin, Ebinama, Chioma illus. Emile and the Field, Random House Children’s Books, 15 March 2022
Fisher, Maraya, 4 Emerging Fashion Photographers To Follow Now, coveteur.com, 22 January 2022
2021
Adjoa Armah, Chioma Ebinama’s Afro-Diasporic Mythmaking, frieze.com, 25 November 2021
Budds, Diana, Murals on 9 City Buildings Will Help You Process Your Pandemic Feelings, curbed.com, 8 February 2021
Burlington, Gwen, Chioma Ebinama, Critics’ Picks, London, artforum.com, 30 November 2021
Burns, Sean, Trouillot, Terence, Stead, Chloe, Frieze Editors on the Artists and Trends of 2021, frieze.com, 17 December 2021
Cornelia, Smith, Inside My Collection: Schwanda Rountree, artsy.net, 23 July 2021
Jones, Jonathan, From The Card Counter to Diana Ross: A complete guide to this week’s entertainment, Going Out: Art, theguardian.com, 6 November 2021
Lesser, Casey, Inside My Collection: Pete Scantland, artsy.net, 29 April 2021
Machando, Danilo, Bold Colors and Surreal Compositions Upend the Monotony of Commercial Billboards, hyperallergic.com, 18 February 2021
Puri Purini, Ilaria, Friday Dispatch – Chioma Ebinama: A Spiral Shell at Maureen Paley, London, contemporaryartsociety.org, 3 December 2021
S. Cohn, Alison and Marsh, Ariana, The Culture Lover’s February Guide, harpersbazaar.com, 1 February 2021
Whitacker, Jack, Chioma Ebinama, Play is a Form of Resistance, metalmagazine.eu, 6 December 2021
Chioma Ebinama, A Spiral Shell. Maureen Paley Gallery, en.martincid.com, 19 October 2021
Chioma Ebinama, There are many ways to live a life, werepresent.wetransfer.com, August 2021
Interview: Chioma Ebinama On Collage, Colour & Her New Exhibition At Maureen Paley, somethingcurated.com, 8 November 2021
2020
Bozoni, Argyro, Chioma Ebinama: A talented artist from Nigeria and her work “Leave the thorns and take the rose” at The Breeder Gallery, elculture.gr, 1 September 2020
Diakosavvas, Alexandros, Chioma Ebinama: Meet the American-Nigerian painter who exhibits in Athens, lifo.gr, 7 September 2020
Di Liscia, Valentina, Your Concise Guide to Armory Week 2020, hyperallergic.com, 2 March 2020
Ferguson, Maeri, On View at SVA in December and January: Forward-Thinking Art, Design and Storytelling, sva.edu, 15 December 2020
Hernandez, Jasmin, In Conversation with Chioma Ebinama: Dreamy Watercolors that Reinforce Love After the Pain, May 2020
Hilmer, Georgia, Chioma Ebinama, georgiahilmer.com, 2 March 2020
Jansen, Charlotte, These Are the Artists You Need On Your Radar Right Now, elephant.art, 4 September 2020
Perez, Rodrigo, ‘Visions’ Gives SVA’s Class Of 2020 A Chance To Shine, sva.edu, 18 November 2020
S. Shehmir, Ayesha, A Virtual Affair, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, p. 40, 1 November 2020
Tsitsopoulos, Stefanos, Visually, autumn 2020: What the wind brings, athensvoice.gr, 16 September 2020
2019
Durand, Marion, Talking In Pictures, brightthemag.com, 24 July 2019
O’Brien, Edna, Ebinama, Chioma illus., Girl, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 18 September 2019
2018
Selvin, Claire, In Seventh Edition, Spring/Break, Strange as Ever, Responds to World’s Tense Cultural Climate, ARTNews.com, 6 March 2018
Harriman, Kat, Snowed Under: Armory Week 2018, Ocula, 16 March 2018
Gomez, Lauren Pellarano, Spring Break Forever: In conversation with Chioma Ebinama, Boston Art Review, Issue 1, 2018