JADÉ FADOJUTIMI
b. 1993, United KingdomJadé Fadojutimi is a London-born contemporary artist whose emotionally charged, large-scale paintings explore identity, memory and place through a distinctive, gestural abstract language that blends vivid colour, dynamic line and dreamlike rhythm.
Early Years
Raised in London, Jadé Fadojutimi studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, where she earned her BA in Fine Art Painting in 2015. She went on to complete an MA at the Royal College of Art in 2017. In 2016, while still a postgraduate student, she undertook a research residency in Kyoto, Japan. Immersing herself in the city’s cultural heritage and aesthetic traditions, Fadojutimi was particularly drawn to the philosophy of space in Japanese art, as well as to animation, sound, and textiles. The experience had a lasting impact on her painting style, introducing recurring motifs of natural forms and emotional introspection. She continues to live and work in London, with Kyoto remaining a key conceptual and visual influence in her practice.
Artworks
Jadé Fadojutimi’s art practice centres on large-scale, emotionally resonant paintings that sit on the edge of abstraction and figuration. Her canvases are portals into deeply personal landscapes of colour, movement and memory, often reflecting both psychological states and physical environments.
Material Fluency and Method
Working predominantly in oil, acrylic, and oil pastel, Fadojutimi blends mediums to create dynamic, layered surfaces. She often paints through the night, accompanied by orchestral anime soundtracks and electronic beats. This rhythmic immersion is visible in her brushwork, which alternates between urgent gestural marks and delicately rendered lines. Many of her paintings begin spontaneously, sometimes completed in a single session (which she calls “one-hit paintings”), while others are reworked over time, veiling earlier layers like a scrim..
Seminal Works and Expanding Scale
Fadojutimi’s breakout moment came with her 2021 solo exhibition Yet, Another Pathetic Fallacy at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London. The paintings showcased a heightened command of space and colour, blurring interior and exterior worlds. Works like Myths of Pleasure and Ob-sess(h)-ion envelop the viewer in a dream-state atmosphere, inviting reflection on identity, vulnerability and belonging.
Her inclusion in the 2022 Venice Biennale (The Milk of Dreams) marked a significant milestone. The monumental paintings displayed there demonstrated her ability to balance intricate mark-making with expansive, emotive colour fields, bridging contemporary painting with psychological depth.
Awards and Accolades
- 2017 Hine Painting Prize
Exhibitions
Jadé Fadojutimi has been the subject of both solo exhibition and group exhibitions at important institutions. A selection of important exhibitions are provided below.
Solo Exhibitions
- Why wilt when? When wilt why? A smile can appear in an echo of laughter, Zweigstelle Capitain at C.A.S.A., Palazzo Degas, Naples (2023)
- Can we see the colour green because we have a name for it?, Hepworth Wakefield, England (2022)
- Yet, Another Pathetic Fallacy, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2021)
Group Exhibitions
- Abstraction in Painting: The Pioneering Spirit, Ueshima Museum, Tokyo (2024)
- In New York, Thinking of You, FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2023)
- New Abstracts: Recent Acquisitions, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2023)
- Milk of Dreams, Venice Biennale (2022)
- Mixing It Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, London (2021)
- The Stomach and the Port, 11th Liverpool Biennial, England (2021)
Website and Instagram
Jadé Fadojutimi’s website can be found here, and Jadé Fadojutimi’s Instagram can be found here.
Critical Reception
Fadojutimi’s practice has received widespread acclaim and has been featured in leading publications including Artnet, The Guardian, and The New Yorker.
In conversation with Ocula Magazine, Fadojutimi stated: ‘There’s no order to the way I work, that’s the beauty of it. That’s why I have so many options when I am painting. That’s why I feel like anything is possible, which means the work has a freedom to be what it wants to be. Sometimes I cut out parts at the end. Sometimes I draw with pastels, and sometimes it’s just painting.’
Jadé Fadojutimi FAQs
What influences Jadé Fadojutimi’s art?
Fadojutimi’s art is shaped by a wide spectrum of influences including Japanese anime, classical orchestral music, and synaesthetic responses to colour and sound. Her experience of neurodivergence, particularly ADHD and bipolar disorder, also informs the rhythm and emotional intensity of her paintings. A research residency in Kyoto in 2016 exposed her to Japanese aesthetic principles and spatial traditions, which continue to shape her palette, line work and compositional sense. Literature, especially philosophical and ecological texts, also inspire her titles and conceptual frameworks, with authors like bell hooks and Peter Wohlleben offering emotional and thematic touchpoints.
How has Jadé Fadojutimi performed at auction?
Fadojutimi’s paintings have seen a steep rise in demand at auction. In March 2023, her large canvas The Woven Warped Garden of Ponder sold at Christie’s London for nearly $2 million USD—approximately three times its pre-sale estimate. This marked the fourth consecutive time within a four-month period that her auction record was broken. Her vibrant, immersive compositions continue to attract both institutional and private collectors, with strong secondary market performance bolstering her reputation as a leading figure in ultra-contemporary art.
What public collections feature Jadé Fadojutimi’s work?
Jadé Fadojutimi’s work is held in major public collections around the world. These include Tate in London, where she became the youngest artist ever acquired by the museum; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami; The Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire; and the Dallas Museum of Art. Her presence in such esteemed collections underscores both the critical and curatorial acclaim surrounding her rapidly evolving body of work.
Ocula | 2025
Explore Jadé Fadojutimi's Exhibitions
Jadé Fadojutimi in Ocula Magazine
Explore and Follow Artists Shaping Contemporary Art
A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services