Njideka Akunyili Crosby combines painting, drawing, collage, and photo transfers to create engrossing scenes. Much of her work has an autobiographical slant, offering insight on Crosby’s life between her native Nigeria and current home of the U.S. Within the textures of the work, you’ll find photos from old family albums and Nigerian publications.
“Akunyili Crosby creates a sophisticated visual language that draws upon her Igbo tribe’s customs, Nigeria’s British colonial past, and tropes of Western art,” a statement says. “In ‘Predecessors,’ personal themes transcend individual experience and speak to universal themes of family, love, domesticity, and enters the global discussion of postcolonial cultural exchange.”
Crosby, a graduate of Yale University School of Art’s MFA program, has had her work shown across the world. Recent shows have been hosted in London, West Palm Beach, and New York. Her work’s in the collections of San Francisco MOMA, the Nasher Museum of Art, the Whitney, Tate, and other major institutions.
