“A lot of my works are layered in what I am, or who I am. What I think things should be or shouldn’t be.”
Overflowing with exuberant hues of pinks and energetic strokes of cobalt, orange, teal, and green, Jadé Fadojutimi’s Taught Thought of 2021 is an outstanding exemplar of the artist’s expressive painterly practice. Fadojutimi’s signature mark-making pulses dynamically across the present canvas, enlivening the picture plane with a chromatic intensity that oscillates between opacity and translucence. Fadojutimi transforms the canvas into a complex emotional landscape that explores themes of identity, self-knowledge, and unresolved emotion, all of which coalesce to underscore the fact that she is one of the most exciting painters of her generation. Indeed, test.mes nt to her artistic prowess, Fadojutimi has seen her works acquired by prestigious institutions including The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and Tate, London. She was also the subject of a highly acclaimed solo exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield in 2023 and a highlight of The Milk of Dreams exhibition at the Central Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 2022.
Taught Thought’s richly saturated canvas explodes with a shimmering wash of pinks and purples, evoking the mesmerizing ethereal glow of a violet sunset. Arched figures dance around in the foreground, suggesting the fluttering flight patterns of a butterfly or flower petals and tree leaves dancing in the air. Of course, these descriptions that invoke a natural landscape are masterfully captured in complete abstraction; in Taught Thought, Fadojutimi invites the viewer into a buzz of raw emotion. “Though they’re purely abstract landscapes,” the artist explains,” there’s a dialogue with figuration within that too. I like to think of them as being on the spectrum between abstraction and figuration. I’d like to remain open for both myself and the viewers, who will have their own dialogue with them visually. This is when my title starts to play a role too.” (the artist quoted in: Nicholas Trembley, “Who is Jadé Fadojutimi, young painter already represented by mega-gallery Gagosian?”, Numéro, 2023 (online)) If we let the title Taught Thought guide our way in approaching the present work, perhaps one can imagine a stunning scenery appreciated, admired, and passed down from generation to generation, or our human preoccupation to find hints of figuration even in the most liberating of abstraction, in a desperate search for legible symbols to hold onto.
“In these paintings, the world, in all of its chaotic glory, exists as an intimation. Art is not an explanation: it’s a shot of energy, a flash of color; a shimmer, a reaction, a line thrown out to see who might pick it up. Pictures are made by people and, like people, their tone can switch direction in the blink of an eye. A painting is a very human thing: they’re allowed to be messy. Jadé tells me that her aim is for ‘deep emotion, not deep description.’”
Fadojutimi’s lively and powerful canvas pulses with gesture and movement as loose translucent washes collide with thick blows of chalky pigment. This effect is the result of a meticulous yet spontaneous process: Fadojutimi builds up thin layers of pigment with rhythmic caresses, before intuitively scraping and scratching the painting’s luminous surface to leave a myriad of dancing grooves and sweeping strokes. The organic shapes of curvilinear lines remind the viewer of Julie Mehretu’s complex abstractions, while the buoyant strokes of thick oils recall the dynamic physicality associated with the abstraction of Jackson Pollock or Joan Mitchell and the vibrant usage of color seen in Wassily Kandinsky. The deep purple that occupies the bottom right-hand corner summons Monet’s late waterlilies and their rich and luxuriant color, along with his lush and luminous brushstrokes. Charged with energy and emotion, Taught Thought confidently occupies the liminal space between figurative and abstract with its looping swirls of blue, confetti of turquoise and orange, and emphatic streaks of red cascade into a nebulous flash of color and emotion.
Fadojutimi writes of her paintings that they “recognize a lack of self caused by automatically thinking that my identity is already defined, and also a frustration that paint can accept these characteristics better than myself.” (the artist quoted in: Exh. Cat., London, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Jadé Fadojutimi: Jesture, 2020 (online)) The richly worked surfaces of Fadojutimi’s canvasses are not only a rigorous interrogation of light and form but also an emotive conversation about the self. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Fadojutimi’s work is grounded in her environment and experiences, and every canvas encapsulates her ever-changing self. Much like her layered paintings, she builds upon her own past, as she draws from her upbringing in suburban London or her Nigerian family. She also often cites Japanese anime soundtracks, video games, and Korean dramas as important sources of inspiration, and how they fuel the energy and dynamism of such cultures. Fadojutimi’s colors manifest themselves as a synesthesia of sorts, bridging her canvas with her identities and interests, mapping her multiple facets with vibrant brushstrokes.
“I think we can translate a lot of moods into color, and see it literally, too. I’ve been thinking about a lot of what it.mes ans to talk about identity, or question it."
Swaying between personal and external influences, between figuration and abstraction, and between translucence and opacity, Taught Thought is a quintessential embodiment of the artist’s singular approach to abstraction. She pushes boundaries and reinvents the tenets of contemporary painting, presenting an exciting opportunity for the viewer to navigate their own psychological landscapes as they journey through the artist’s inner thoughts and emotions. Her exquisite technique, so resolved for an artist so early in her career, and her natural mastery of color results in a powerful work of art that splendidly celebrates emotion—both the deeply personal and the engagingly universal. Fadojutimi, through Taught Thought, immerses us in a vibrant confrontation with affect: “What I love about painting is that it’s a discussion with ourselves. When you see a work you’re drawn to, there’s always a moment where you want to leave but you can’t… I want my canvases to be spaces where people maybe recognize themselves and think, ‘I see this, and that’s okay, but why do I see this? And what does that.mes an to me?’” (the artist quoted in: Exh. Cat., London, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Jadé Fadojutimi: Jesture, 2020 (online))
