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).

Group shows at Ceysson Gallery
Body Full of Stars , New York
June 21 - July 28, 2023


Solo Exhibitons

2023
The Eleventh House, The Breeder, Athens, Greece

2022
tipota, Fortnight Institute, New York, USA

2021
A Spiral Shell, Maureen Paley, London
mud & butterflies, Galeria Catinca Tabacaru, Bucharest, Romania
Lay All Your Love On Me, Salon 94, New York, USA

2020
Leave the thorns and take the rose, The Breeder Gallery, Athens, Greece
Now I only believe in…Love, Fortnight Institute, New York, NY, USA

2019
Mammywater, curated by Diego Anay, BAF Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA
Anunu: Notes on the Divine Feminine, curated by Zina Saro Wiwa, Boy’s Quarters Project Space, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

2018
Gods of the Wilderness, curated by Bubu Ogisi, IAMISIGO Showroom, Lagos, Nigeria
Penumbras, curated by Raphael Guilbert, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Ritual For A New Direction, curated by Raphael Guilbert, SPRING/BREAK Art Fair, New York, NY, USA

Group Exhibitions

2022
Hollow Earth: Art, Caves & The Subterranean Imaginary, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK; travelling to The Glucksman, Cork, Ireland and RAMM, Exeter, UK
The Company She Keeps, Tiwani Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria

2021
Animal Kingdom, Ame Nue, Hamburg, Germany
Nine Lives, Fortnight Institute, New York, NY, USA
Never Done100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond, The Tang Museum at Skidmore College, New York, NY, USA
The Serpent’s Eye, Musée d’art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne, Rochechouart, France
This Point is Exactly Midway Between Two Other Points, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Brooklyn, USA

2020
Alien Landscape, 303 Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Ambra Nera, curated by George Vamvakidis and Sathis Panagoulis, The Breeder Gallery, Athens, Greece
Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, USA

2019
Crossing the Sands, curated by Veronica Flom and Camilo Godoy, West Harlem Art Fund, Governor’s Island, New York, NY, USA
Interior Landscapes, curated by Natasha Becker, Paola Gallio, Yulia Topichy, Assembly Room, New York, NY, USA

2018
In a Silent Way, co-curated by Bisi Silva and Stephanie Baptist, Dak’Art Biennale Off-Site, Dakar, Senegal

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