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“I bathe in the conversations between colour, texture, line, form, composition, rhythm, marks and disturbances.”
— Jadé FadojutimiOne of the most exciting painters working today, London-born Jadé Fadojutimi has proven herself an indomitable force to be reckoned with in the world of contemporary art. At just twenty-eight years old, she has already been honoured with institutional solo shows around the world, has three galleries representing her, participated in Biennales, ranked alongside the likes of The Duchess of Cambridge and Vivienne Westwood in Vogue’s list of the '25 Most Influential Women in 2021', and has work featured in numerous public collections including the Tate in London, of which she is the youngest artist in their collection.
On the 8th June 2021, when Phillips in Association with Poly Auction debuted Fadojutimi’s work at auction in Asia, Concealment: An essential generated by the lack of shade (2019) far surpassed its pre-auction estimate range of HK$600,000 – 800,000, achieving a remarkable HK$5,670,000 and setting a new world record for the artist at the time. Indicative of the enthusiasm surrounding her practice, that record has since been broken three times over, with the current top result achieved on 15 October 2021 by Phillips London for her work Myths of Pleasure (2017), which hammered down for £1,172,000 plus Premium.
Fishing For Steps was created in 2017–the same year as Fadojutimi’s graduation degree show from London’s prestigious Royal College of Art where she was first caught the attention of with the Pippy Houldsworth gallery, launching her meteoric rise to success. Perfectly exemplifying the dynamism and vibrancy for which she has become critically acclaimed, the work was presented at The Contemporary British Painting Prize 2017 exhibition at London’s Orleans House Gallery. In her accompanying artist statement, Fadojutimi explains: ‘the fascination with paint comes with the interlocking of textures, where the painting converses with itself on the surface - an interaction that lacks control and so liberates the material.’ i
A studio visit with Jadé Fadojutimi ahead of the Liverpool Biennale, March 2021
Harmony of Colour and Line
Against a lavender blue backdrop highlighted by splashes of lemon yellow, Fadojutimi paints slapdash strokes of vibrant green, black and white that oscillate between foreground and background – with hints of red peeking through to add to the mix. At the heart of her sprawling compositions is an exploration into the fluid nature of identity in relation to the world that shapes it, and as our gaze traverses around Fishing For Steps’ gestural line and chromatic intensity, we too, find ourselves immersed into a voyage of the imagination enacted through the language of paint.
Often working in fortissimo fits of inspiration late into the night with music blasting from her studio—a method of working also preferred by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara— Fadojutimi beautifully builds up layers of pigment thinned with Liquin, a quick-drying medium that gives the oil a high sheen. As art critic Jennifer Higgie explains, ‘this results in pictures whose surfaces recall panes of glass or fast-moving water: Shifting, reflective, impatient’. ii Indeed, rhythmically charged by the raw energy of her intricately layered lattice of brushstroke, colour blossoms across Fishing For Steps as if in choreographed dance.
Although Fadojutimi’s command of colour recalls the influence of numerous artists, among them David Hockney, Henri Matisse, Makiko Kudo, and Sigmar Polke, the transportive power of her dream-like compositions largely owes to her love for Japanese anime, videogames, poetry, and movie soundtracks. In the artist’s own words, ‘I treasure living in an escapist reality, so it’s only natural that this has had a large impact on my life and practice.’ iii
Makiko Kudo, Invisible, 2011
© Makiko KudoIn a Dance with her Canvas
“It’s stimulating exposing the subtleties of organic forms found along the process of painting and I relish manipulating their malleability, carrying them in and out of focus, making their recognition fragile.”
— Jadé Fadojutimi
Eddie Martinez, Christmas in July, 2016
Sold by Phillips Hong Kong in Association with Poly Auction on 8 June 2021 for HK$5,922,000
© 2021 Eddie Martinez / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkLike Eddie Martinez who likens his physical method of painting to being in a boxing match, stepping in and out of confrontation with the canvas, when Fadojutimi paints she is constantly in motion, guided by the ‘strong will of the painting’s desire to exist’ ii. As Jennifer Higgie notes of the energy Fadojutimi pours into her painting: ‘globules of paint erupt like buds from the ground. These pictures seem like a garden in spring or a choppy sea; at times, the mood is so exuberant that it appears to be on the brink of exploding. Colours pulse like a bass line given centre stage. It’s clear: paint is an organic substance, as replete with possibility as newly composted earth.’ ii
Fadojutimi’s triumph of this visceral approach has earned the young artist a cohort of critically favourable comparisons, particularly to Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and the other leading exponents of Abstract Expressionism. Similar to de Kooning, whilst Fadojutimi’s canvases are undoubtedly situated within a highly abstracted realm, works like Fishing For Steps exquisitely showcase how she flirts with figuration. From the silhouettes of animals, to figures and the outline of a shoe - the composition is peppered with representational allusion that reveal layers of meaning upon extended contemplation, beckoning the viewer to try and seek out recognisable cues.
Willem de Kooning, Abstraction, 1949 – 1950
Collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
© 2021 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkAs an accomplished writer, torn out pages of jotted down notes and poetry line the walls of Fadojutimi’s studio, often feeding into the titles of her works. Although relatively ambiguous, the title Fishing For Steps can perhaps be understood from the artist’s perspective as she pursues move after move to bring her composition to life. At the same time, Fishing For Steps also represents the viewing experience as we delve into the harmonious details of the rhapsodic canvas to explore notions of identity and fluidity from in and amongst the entanglement of mark and recurring form.
Collector’s Digest
Fadojutimi graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from London’s Slade School of Fine Art in 2015, and a Master of Fine Arts from the Royal College of Art in 2017, where she was awarded the Hine Painting Prize. Since her first solo exhibition at the Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London in 2017-2018, she has been honoured with solo presentations of her work in key locations around the world. This includes at PEER UK, London, and Galerie Gisela Capitain in Cologne in 2019, and again at the Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in 2020.
The artist’s American institutional debut will open on 30 November 2021 at the Miami Institute for Contemporary Art. Titled Jadé Fadojutimi: Yet, Another Pathetic Fallacy, the exhibition will run until 17 April 2022. Fadojutimi also has an upcoming solo exhibition arranged with the Taka Ishii Gallery in Tokyo, with shows at The Hepworth Wakefield and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin to follow next year.
Her work is in the collections of Tate, London; The Hepworth Wakefield, ICA Miami; Walker Art Center at the Contemporary Art Museum in Minneapolis; The Studio Museum in Harlem; and Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland. The Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris also just announced its acquisition of a 2020 work by the artist for inclusion in their permanent collection.
Fadojutimi is represented by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London; Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne; and Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo.
i Jadé Fadojutimi, quoted in The Contemporary British Painting Prize 2017: Shortlist Selection, exh. cat., The Stables Gallery at Orleans House Gallery, London, 2017, p. 16
ii Jennifer Higgie, Jadé Fadojutimi: Jesture, exh. cat., Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, 2020, p. 11
iii Jadé Fadojutimi, quoted in David Trigg, ‘Jadé Fadojutimi – interview: I bathe in the conversations between colour, texture, line, form, composition, rhythm, marks and disturbances’, Studio International, 26 April 2021, online
Provenance
Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2018Exhibited
London, Orleans House Gallery, The Stables Gallery, The Contemporary British Painting Prize 2017: Shortlist Selection, 25 August - 22 October 2017, p. 17 (illustrated)
Artist Biography
Jadé Fadojutimi
Jadé Fadojutimi is a British contemporary artist who lives and works in London. A recent graduate of the Royal College of Art, Fadojutimi has seen a precipitous ascent to success: she is the youngest artist represented in the collection of the Tate, London, and has upcoming exhibitions planned for the Hepworth Wakefield and the Liverpool Biennial. Fadojutimi’s work is immersive and all-encompassing, featuring tightly woven lattices of ecstatic pigment and electric line. The raw but bubbly energy of her paintings reflects aspects of the artist’s own interiority, as she treats each canvas as an opportunity to explore undiscovered or under-interrogated aspects of her individuality. Fadojutimi believes that color and personality mingle and encourage one another; the matrices of line and color resemble the psychedelic spindles of neural networks, actualizing the artist’s investigative efforts as visual translations of the artist’s explorations of identity and fluidity.
Fadojutimi brings a frenetic energy to painting, as many of her works are completed in late-night bursts of creativity; what may start the night as a blank canvas often emerges in the morning as a finished work. Describing her practice in environmental terms, Fadojutimi strives to incorporate the ineffable associations of memory absorbed from the warm moments and special objects of life; taken against the societal backdrop of their creation, Fadojutimi’s paintings shine out as optimistic beacons for dark times.
Property of an Important Private British Collector
51
Fishing For Steps
signed, titled and dated 'Jadé Fadojutimi "'Fishing For Steps'" 2017 JF' on the reverse
oil on canvas
100.4 x 145 cm. (39 1/2 x 57 1/8 in.)
Painted in 2017.
Estimate
HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
€136,000-250,000
$154,000-282,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
Charlotte Raybaud
Head of Evening Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art
+852 2318 2026
CharlotteRaybaud@phillips.com
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Association with Poly Auction
Hong Kong Auction 30 November 2021
1
Cinga Samson
Ivory V
Estimate HK$250,000 - 350,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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2
Salman Toor
East Village Iqbal Bano
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$4,536,000
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3
Nina Chanel Abney
Untitled (IXI Black)
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
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4
Jamian Juliano-Villani
Clear Cough from Your Schedule
Estimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$781,200
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5
Mr.
Yume—Breath of the Earth
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
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6
Julie Curtiss
Escargot
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,449,000
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7
Javier Calleja
30 works: Untitled
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,108,000
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8
Javier Calleja
You Me
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for HK$7,026,000
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9
Aya Takano
In the Lab (the Birth of Jelly)
Estimate HK$200,000 - 300,000
Sold for HK$441,000
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10
Hernan Bas
Minimalism (cracking the code)
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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11
Joel Mesler
Untitled (Night Out)
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$1,512,000
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12
Shara Hughes
Magic Island
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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13
Scott Kahn
Cadman Plaza
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$7,510,000
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14
Matthew Wong
Nature’s Church
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$9,204,000
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15
Matthew Wong
Far Away Eyes
Estimate HK$8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for HK$21,183,000
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16
Gerhard Richter
Kerzenschein (Candle-light)
Estimate HK$55,000,000 - 75,000,000
Sold for HK$101,970,000
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17
This lot is no longer available.
18
Yayoi Kusama
INFINITY-NETS (OPRT)
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 25,000,000
Sold for HK$22,635,000
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19
Yayoi Kusama
Repetition
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$19,005,000
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20
Nicolas Party
Still Life
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 9,400,000
Sold for HK$17,190,000
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21
David Hockney
Bridlington Violets
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,350,000
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22
Léonard-Tsuguharu Foujita
Self-Portrait with a Cat
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$5,292,000
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23
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24
Sanyu
Paysage Aux Hirondelles
Estimate HK$26,000,000 - 46,000,000
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25
Zao Wou-Ki
Sans titre ("Notre Dame")
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$10,051,000
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26
Zao Wou-Ki
Brume d’automne
Estimate HK$4,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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27
Auguste Rodin
Le Baiser, 1ère réduction dite aussi "réduction n°1"
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$11,745,000
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28
Zao Wou-Ki
20.3.64.
Estimate HK$20,000,000 - 30,000,000
Sold for HK$22,030,000
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29
This lot is no longer available.
30
Alexander Calder
Two Red Petals in the Air
Estimate HK$16,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$20,820,000
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31
Claude Monet
Pavots dans un vase de Chine
Estimate HK$9,500,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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32
Georges Mathieu
Saxifrage
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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33
This lot is no longer available.
34
Huang Yuxing
Floating Bubbles
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
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35
Zhou Chunya
Smell the Flowers
Estimate HK$5,000,000 - 7,000,000
Sold for HK$6,905,000
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36
This lot is no longer available.
37
Liu Ye
Flagship No. 2
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$5,922,000
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38
Wang Xingwei
Untitled (Heart-Shaped Dance)
Estimate HK$2,800,000 - 4,800,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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39
Liu Ye
Untitled
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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40
Liu Wei
You Like Smoking?
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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41
Izumi Kato
Untitled
Estimate HK$4,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$11,745,000
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42
Yoshitomo Nara
Pandora's Box
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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43
George Condo
The Dreamer
Estimate HK$4,600,000 - 6,200,000
Sold for HK$11,140,000
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44
George Condo
Entangled Figures
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 9,200,000
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45
This lot is no longer available.
46
KAWS
NEW YORK
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$5,040,000
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47
KAWS
FINAL DAYS
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 8,200,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
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48
Raymond Pettibon
Untitled (Force makes nature...)
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,906,000
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49
Robert Nava
Angel Shark
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$4,410,000
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50
Susumu Kamijo
Marching To The Sun
Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000
Sold for HK$2,142,000
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51
Jadé Fadojutimi
Fishing For Steps
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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52
Mickalene Thomas
Looking Up from the She Works Hard For the Money Pin-Up series
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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53
Billie Zangewa
Cirque d'hiver
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$567,000
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54
Godwin Champs Namuyimba
The Connector
Estimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$1,323,000
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55
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones
Blue Ancestor
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,071,000
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56
Tomoo Gokita
Final Confrontation
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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57
Ewa Juszkiewicz
Appropriation
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,890,000
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58
Lucas Arruda
Untitled from the series Deserto-Modelo
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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