Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

In an interview with Dodie Kazanjian of Vogue she stated “Instead of trying to put complicated narratives into my work, I decided to simplify, and focus on just the figure and how it was painted.

The characteristic dark palette of her work is known for creating a feeling of stillness that contributes to the timeless nature of her subjects.

She brings to the depiction of her subjects contemplative facial expressions and relaxed gestures, making their posture and mood relatable to many viewers.

Her subjects in this show included more vibrant details such as a checkered linoleum-floor, a bold headwrap and bathing suit, and a yellow, orange, and green background.

[17] With her expressive representations of the human figure, Yiadom-Boakye examines the formal mechanisms of the medium of painting and reveals political and psychological dimensions in her works, which focus on imaginary characters who exist beyond our world in a different time and in an unknown location.

[14] She also finds inspiration from music and artists including: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Nick Drake, Lisa Yuskavage, Chris Offili, and Isaac Julien.

[21][14] For an artist, Yiadom-Boakye is unusual in describing herself as a writer as much as a painter—her short stories and prosy poems frequently appear in her catalogues.

Examples of her works shown in catalogues includes five extracts from a detective novel entitled "an Officer of the Law" and some intermittent notes on criminality.

An example of this:"Dead but for the life in me, Where Black rivers run in the Bath, Having eaten the Activist and her Cause And alerted the Ugly to all their Flaws I Bask where God cannot see me.

[22] At a 2019 auction at Phillips in London, Yiadom-Boakye's Leave A Brick Under The Maple (2015), a life-size portrait of a standing man, sold for about $1 million.

Her notable solo shows include Any Number of Preoccupations (2010), Studio Museum in Harlem, New York;[28] Verses After Dusk (2015),[29] Serpentine Galleries, London;[30] A Passion To A Principle (2016),[31] Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland;[32] Under-Song For a Cipher (2017), New Museum, New York;[33][34][35] and Fly In League With The Night (2022-2023), Tate Britain, London.