Blue Steps (Fall from Grace) 2011

Curator: Chris Ofili’s acrylic on canvas painting, "Blue Steps (Fall from Grace)," created in 2011, is a work that seems to vibrate with a singular, overwhelming moodiness. What strikes you initially? Editor: The blue. It just absorbs all light, or rather, reflects very little. The painting technique looks almost textile like, reminiscent of indigo dying with these resistant patterning effects where certain areas remain darker through layers. What kind of pigment did he use to achieve that tone? Curator: That concentrated, saturated ultramarine conjures ideas of longing and melancholy – and historically it’s linked to spirituality, even transcendence. Ofili layers blues to almost evoke water or some form of altered, fluid space. There are some shapes reminiscent of human figures too, in my view. Editor: The monochrome dominates to such an extent it almost cancels form. Even within that seemingly flat color field, I get a sense that he’s really pushing the medium, it looks incredibly labored – building the texture meticulously to tease out variations and nuances in hue. I see those step forms suggested in the composition, hence the name. Curator: Indeed, that's very well observed. The motif of "steps" leading perhaps upwards or downwards connects, of course, to the ‘fall’ referenced in the parenthetical title. Stairways and ascents often represent a spiritual journey or test. And blue has such a connection with the divine feminine in the history of art. It prompts me to consider this painting’s implicit symbols of fragility or collapse – emotionally and spiritually. Editor: And given Ofili's background, raised Catholic and of Nigerian descent, do you think the “Fall from Grace” suggests the toppling of something colonial perhaps, or some earlier framework of value? How are steps both symbols of climbing, and descent, simultaneously in a post colonial reading? Curator: An intriguing observation! Perhaps the loss of an illusion? And those steps do present the possibility for slipping. I like the interpretation within a postcolonial context as we are looking at an Afro British artist. I think you're right in proposing we acknowledge those social factors when decoding this art piece. It seems we are both thinking about what could be crumbling in this ocean of blue... Editor: Well, examining the labor certainly adds a certain degree of appreciation. So many works now get spat out effortlessly and this clearly comes from the artist doing real manual work on the canvas!