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Odili Donald Odita
Exhibition
Odili Donald Odita. Murals
18 Aug 2015 – 1 Oct 2017
Address
- 2001 Campus Drive
- Durham
Charlotte - NC 27705
- United States
As part of Nasher10, a celebration of the first decade and beyond, the Nasher Museum commissioned two large-scale murals by abstract painter Odili Donald Odita.
About
His wall painting inside the Nasher Museum’s Mary D.B.T. Semans Great Hall, entitled Shadow and Light (For Julian Francis Abele), is inspired by the African-American architect who designed most of Duke’s campus. Odita’s wall painting visually connects the Nasher Museum to downtown Durham, where he painted a second mural on the Foster Street wall of the Downtown Durham YMCA, 218 W. Morgan Street. That painting, entitled Time Bridge, was inspired by the city of Durham, which is, according to the artist, “a city that has an awareness of the complexity of its individual interests, and at the same time is open to allow those interests to thrive together as a community.”
Odita was born in 1966 in Enugu, Nigeria, and lives and works in Philadelphia. His abstract paintings explore ways to trigger memory and address the human condition through color, pattern and design.
“We are very proud to bring Odili Donald Odita to Duke to kick off the celebration of our amazing first decade and the decades to come,” said Sarah Schroth, Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director of the Nasher Museum. “His beautiful, abstract wall paintings demonstrate a rare use of color and pattern executed through a rigorous process. Odita’s colors reflect his vision from his travels around the world. His painting inside the museum will visually connect with a monumental wall painting in downtown Durham, symbolizing our enthusiastic commitment to the community.”
Both of Odita’s mural projects have inspired educational initiatives and public programs that will strengthen the museum’s ties to Duke and the community in new ways.
In a partnership with Durham School of the Arts, the Nasher Museum has created Nasher Teens, a group of high school art students who will serve as tour guides and educate the public about Odita and his murals.
Read the artist’s statement.
The mural at the Downtown Durham YMCA will be unveiled on Oct. 10 at a block party at 218 W. Morgan Street. This temporary exhibition will be on view through 2017.
