About the Exhibition:
Okey Ofomata’s paintings juxtapose anxiety, chance, and circumstance. Working in oil and acrylic, he creates his pieces with photographic compositions using thick and heavy brush strokes that result in a dense, textural surface. Ofomata’s imagery ranges from pop culture to personal memory. As he observes the world around him, re-occurring themes of sports, body movement, social gatherings, and fleeting moments in restaurants appear. By situating his subjects within the familiar, Ofomata imbues ordinary spaces with a weight of surrealism and allegory.
In Ofomata’s work there is a duality between accelerated movement and the human pleasures of stillness. Dark, rich colors fill his canvases in his storytelling as he immerses the viewer into figurative abstraction. Ofomata constructs a narrative around the struggle and determination that accompany the body’s typical fight-or-flight response, guiding visitors along each subject’s journey.
You Should Get Some Sleep is on view for the public at Anthony Gallery at 1360 W. Lake Street from September 25th, 2025 to November 1st, 2025.
