Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

The first solo exhibition of British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye at the New Museum in New York broadcasts seventeen new works created for the occasion.

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Although they inhabit curiously placeless and timeless settings, Yiadom-Boakye’s painted figures also probe the politics of representation. Her new oil paintings are on show at the New Museum in New York, within the exhibition “Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Under-Song For A Cipher” curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Edlis Neeson Artistic Director and Natalie Bell, Assistant Curator.

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Top: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, A Conflagration, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 250 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Above: left – Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Brothers To A Garden, 2017. Oil on linen, 150 x 120 cm. Right – Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Of All The Seasons, 2017. Oil on linen, 110.5 x 60.5 cm

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, The Grains, 2017. Oil on linen, 75.5 x 90.5 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Left: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Repose III, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 120 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Right: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, A Cage For The Love, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 120 cm

Left: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, In Lieu Of Keen Virtue, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 130 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Right: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Light Of The Lit Wick, 2017. Oil on linen, 201 x 130.5 cm

Left: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, The Matters, 2016. Oil on linen, 200 x 130 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Right: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Ropes For A Clairvoyant, 2017. Oil on linen, 200.5 x 130 cm

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, 8am Cadiz, 2017. Oil on linen, 78 3/4 x 98 3/8 in (200 x 250 cm). Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Left: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Carve A Corpse For Care, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 130.5 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Right: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, The Much-Vaunted Air, 2017. Oil on canvas, 200 x 130.5 cm

In her lush oil paintings, British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye conjures elegant figures that appear both quotidian and otherworldly. For her solo exhibition at the New Museum, Yiadom-Boakye has created seventeen new works and conceived a painted environment specific to the Fourth Floor Gallery. Her paintings embrace many of the conventions of historical European portraiture but expands on that tradition by featuring purely fictional subjects.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Willow Strip, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 180 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York — Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, *Willow Strip*, 2017. Oil on linen, 200 x 180 cm. Courtesy the artist; Corvi-Mora, London; and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

In spite of their everyday appearances – reclining on a sofa, conversing over coffee, or pausing deep in thought – none of her figures represent real people. The artist’s subjects stem entirely from her imagination, yet even as composites of her mental archive of gestures, postures, and gazes, they exhibit a human depth and confidence that is enigmatic and engaging.

until 3 September 2017
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. Under-Song For A Cipher
curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Natalie Bell
New Museum
235 Bowery, New York

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