About
This textural mixed-media painting on canvas by Togolese artist Olympio delivers an unfiltered glimpse into the artist's soul through a powerful blend of texture, energy, and abstract figurative form.
An oversized, tightly cropped neo-expressionist face emerges boldly from the canvas, acting as a powerful centerpiece for Olympio's acclaimed figurative works. Visually gripping and complex, thick, sweeping gestures of white, lavender, and pink acrylic form the features, sitting atop a rich, dark charcoal-grey background that subtly reveals glimpses of underlying, calmer ochre and teal compositions. Energetic green and red oil pastel strokes combined with heavy black linework and sweeping, misty spray paint lines create a buzzing sense of kinetic motion around the wide, exaggerated eyes. This artwork offers a tactile experience where heavily layered textures and compressed movements perfectly balance a deeply structured, intimate composition.
• One-of-a-kind mixed media painting measuring 23.5inches high and 23 inches wide
• Painted on all sides
• Wired and ready to hang
• Signed by the artist on the back
Growing up in Lomé, Togo, West Africa, as one of eight siblings, he found his first art supplies in building scraps. He began by building raw sculptures from found objects before moving to mixed-media collages in high school. He later transitioned to acrylic and oil on canvas.
His creative journey took him from West Africa to Paris in 2001, and eventually to the United States in 2003. Since then, his career has skyrocketed. He made waves at Art Basel Miami, where Red Dot Miami named him one of the Top 10 Artists. Major global networks like the BBC, France 2, and TV5Monde have featured his studio practice. Today, he is widely celebrated as one of the most compelling Togolese-American voices in contemporary art, making his boundary-pushing canvases highly sought after by international collectors.
