NEW YORK, NY.- Gladstone Gallery today announced the representation of Nigerian-American poet and artist Precious Okoyomon. Okoyomon considers the natural world, histories of migration and racialization, and the pure pleasures of everyday life in their practice. A major exhibition of their work is currently on view at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, through May 25, 2025.
Okoyomon plays with identity, colonial history and the relationship between the human species and nature, through sculpture, poetry and installation. Their expansive living environments composed of soil, plants, water, insects, music and sound, evolve over time. Okoyomon spotlights the ongoing impact of imperialism while offering alternative perspectives on coexistence, decay and renewal. Drawing connections between plant migration and human movement, Okoyomon often uses species with complex political status and history, such as kudzu, sugarcane, invasives and non-natives, to insinuate the realities of cross-pollination and the endless evolution of the worlds we inhabit.
“Precious’s interdisciplinary approach and innovative use of living materials bring an exciting dimension to our gallery,” said Max Falkenstein, Senior Partner, Gladstone Gallery. “We are pleased to welcome Precious to the Gallery and look forward to working with them and to introducing their work to wider audiences”
“Precious is a truly singular voice– with a quality that comes around very rarely, with super powers of love, joy, and clear-eyed steely determination in the face of our unfolding and multiple disasters,” says Gavin Brown, Partner. “Our first collaboration together in 2023 in Rome was a revelation. Precious dances a tightrope, balancing and resolving the tensions between stark binaries that surround us today, such as evil and renewal, horror and comedy. Now, at Gladstone, I am looking forward to more. Precious will meet the world face forward, always with extraordinary intelligence, and that generous smile.”
Okoyomon has had solo exhibitions at LUMA Westbau, Zurich, Switzerland; the Museum Für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Performance Space New York, New York, New York; the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado; The Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Madrid Foundation, Madrid, Spain; The Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Ithaca, New York; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria. They were included in the Baltic Triennial 13, Tallinn, Estonia; the 58th Belgrade Biennial, Belgrade, Serbia; the 59th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; the 2022 Okayama Art Summit, Okayama, Japan; the 11th Sequences Biennial, Reykjavik, Iceland; the 2023 Thailand Biennial, Chiang Rai, Thailand, as well as in group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK; LUMA Westbau, Zurich, Switzerland; Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany; LUMA Arles, Arles, France; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Nigerian Pavillion, 60th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria.
Okoyomon’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum Für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany and LUMA Arles, Arles, France. Okoyomon was the 2021 recipient of the Frieze Art Fair Artist Award, as well as the 2021 Chanel Next Art Prize. In 2024, But Did You Die?, their second book of poetry, was co-published by the Serpentine and Wonder Press.
Okoyomon (b. 1993, London, England) was raised in Nigeria and the U.S., and is based in Brooklyn, New York. The artist is also represented by Mendes Wood DM.
