A commission will always be have a special place in the heart of a collection. A fortunate meeting with Temitayo Ogunbiyi led to a conversation on our shared interest in the role of plants in shaping our humanity. One of these conversations was about kudzu, also an inspiration for the works of two artists whose work we love, William Christenberry and Precious Okoyomon.
Plants in the work of Ogunbiyi are not what they seem, they are imaginary hybrids, chimeras born from the imagination of the artist, and from drawing inspiration. These delicate works on paper have a meditative and personal quality, not without evoking to us utter strength similar to that of Nasreen Mohamedi, another cherished artist.
For this particular work, the artist chose the purple of kudzu flowers and lavender, linking these two plants which she knew we had a personal connection to. As is usually her practice, Temitayo handwrote the name of the work directly onto it, using the invocation that she uses to title her works (“You will…”). Addressed in this way, we now feel that we have become a small part of Temitayo Ogunbiyi’s practice.
