Toyin Ojih Odutola

[2] Ojih Odutola's artwork often investigates a variety of themes from socio-economic inequality, the legacy of colonialism, queer and gender theory, notions of blackness as a visual and social symbol, as well as experiences of migration and dislocation.

In 1990 her mother, Nelene Ojih, took Toyin and her two-year-old brother to the United States to accompany their father, Dr. Jamiu Ade Odutola, in Berkeley, California, where he was undergoing research and teaching chemistry at the university.

[13] In 2016, she presented "A Matter of Fact," a solo exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora, in San Francisco, exploring a new style of works she developed during her residency at Headlands Center for the Arts, in Sausalito, California.

[15] The exhibition presented a vibrant series of figures connected by a fictional narrative of two aristocratic Nigerian dynasties, who are joined by the union of titled sons from both families.

[20] In August 2020, her first museum solo exhibition in the United Kingdom opened at The Curve gallery at Barbican Centre, London, titled "A Countervailing Theory."

Specifically for this commission, Ojih Odutola created 40 works depicting an ancient parable set in central Nigeria's Jos Plateau.

In the artist's interview with The Guardian, Ojih Odutola said that the exhibition was inspired by two episodes: reading about ancient rock formations in central Nigeria; and hearing about a German archaeologist who mistakenly attributed brass statues found in Nigeria to ‘Greeks from Atlantis’ because he ‘couldn’t couldn’t conceive of Nigerians having the mental aptitude to create such anatomically correct and beautiful objects’.

[25] She credits her high school art teacher, Dana Bathurst, for introducing her to African-American portraiture artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden and Barkley L.

Additionally, studying the works of contemporary artists like Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, and Julie Mehretu had an impact while she was in graduate school.