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# *Black Gold I*

National Museum of African Art

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                      -     Object Details- Yinka Shonibare, born 1962, London, United Kingdom
- Label Text
- Shonibare's early paintings comprise small square canvases presented in a grid format upon a square or rectangular background color. More recently, they have featured small roundels on circular or oval painted backgrounds; and his latest works, with their glistening black splatter forms across the gallery wall, break down the idea of the border or edge altogether. Referencing "black gold," or Africa's rich oil resources, splatter paintings such as this one also recall the extravagant splashes and drips of the American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock--to which they form a playful response.
- (Yinka Shonibare MBE, Virtual exhibition website)
- Description
- 25 circular canvases of varying dimensions arranged on a large-scale ink splatter pattern (applied by template). Each canvas consists of foliate patterns painted in black and gold paint on either edges or surface of stretched Dutch wax printed fabrics.
- Exhibition History
- Environment and Object in Recent African Art, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, February 5-July 31, 2011
- Yinka Shonibare MBE, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia, September 24, 2008-February 1, 2009; Brooklyn Museum, June 26-September 20, 2009; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 10, 2009-March 7, 2010
- Published References
- Aronson, Lisa and John S. Weber. 2012. Environment and Object: Recent African Art. New York: Prestel, pp. 46-49.
- Milbourne, Karen E. 2009. Yinka Shonibare MBE. Exhibition brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Shonibare, Yinka. 2008. Yinka Shonibare, MBE. Munich; New York: Prestel, pp. 158-159, 215.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- 2006
- Object number
- 2008-2-1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- (c) 2006 Yinka Shonibare, MBE
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Acrylic paint on Dutch wax printed cotton canvas
- Dimensions
- H x W: 330 x 673 cm (129 15/16 x 264 15/16 in.)
- Geography
- Nigeria
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- National Museum of African Art
- Record ID
- nmafa_2008-2-1
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7b3f55500-88ad-44a2-bd37-447b765aff6b
  CC0Creative Commons - No Rights Reserved iconUsage Conditions Apply>download icon>          There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .        International media Interoperability FrameworkIIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.View manifestView in Mirador ViewerExpand to view image×                             Footer logo      
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