Toy Painting 1

Toy Painting 1

2003
Artist
Yinka Shonibare, English, 1962-
Born: London, England
Work Locations: London, England
Country
United Kingdom
Object
sculpture
Medium
Emulsion, acrylic paint on textiles, wire, toys
Accession Number
2016.154
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum

© Yinka Shonibare CBE

Dimensions
height: 37 in, 93.9800 cm; width: 37 in, 93.9800 cm; depth: 4 in, 10.1600 cm
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art

Yinka Shonibare’s work explores the construction of nationality and identity from personal memory and communal experiences.  Playing off of the idea of the circle as the epitome of geometric perfection, "Toy Painting 1" alludes to the global interconnectedness of the past and present. The meandering of the four-leaf clover in the center of the circle refers to Shonibare’s Irish heritage, exploring his personal multi-cultural identity within a cyclical narrative.  Surrounding the canvas are toy figures, mainly animals, alongside a human and man-made inventions, such as a bulldozer and hamburger, perhaps alluding to the evolutionary relationship between animal and man. 

Yinka Shonibare MBE RA was born in London and moved to Lagos, Nigeria at the age of three. He returned to London to study Fine Art, first at Byam Shaw College of Art (now Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design) and then at Goldsmiths College, where he received his MFA, graduating as part of the ‘Young British Artists’ generation. He currently lives and works in the East End of London.

Known Provenance
Purchased by Vicki and Kent Logan from Stephen Friedman Gallery, 2004; gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2016

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