Dickens Otieno Kenyan, b. 1979
Dickens Otieno Kenyan, b. 1979
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Lives and works in Nairobi
Dickens Otieno's tapestries use and draw attention to the potential beauty in objects that would otherwise be dismissed as useless, and discarded. Aluminium cans are shredded and woven into sculptural fabrics in a process informed by the weaving of natural materials such as papyrus, raffia or palm that he observed growing up. Otieno's mother was a tailor and he spent many hours in her workshop amongst lesos and kitenges, whose colours and patterns have since influenced his aesthetic. This engagement with textile grows from an interest in the way pattern, colour and iconography are used to imbue functional objects with meaning and identity. Otieno draws on his immediate physical surroundings, particularly the urban environment in his native Nairobi, to create his compositions. Objects piled high in markets, the constantly shifting skyline, and the pockets of nature within the concrete and steel haze of the city, have become sources of inspiration for his richly hued, increasingly sculptural forms.
Otieno's solo exhibitions include Mtaani, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, 2021, Mabati Tailor, Circle Art Gallery, 2020 and Trails, Circle Art Gallery, 2023. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions locally and internationally including: East African Encounters, Cromwell Place, London, 2021; See Here, Old Neals Auction House, Nottingham, 2018; Africa/Africa, Total Arts Courtyard Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, 2018; Young Guns, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi, 2017; The Third Dimension, Circle Art Gallery, 2016; UNI-FORM MULTI-FORM, Roots Contemporary, Nairobi, 2016; Paint and Metal, National Museum of Nairobi, 2016. Otieno has exhibited at international art fairs including Art Dubai, Eye of the Collector, London, Circle Art Gallery, 2023 and Untitled Art Fair, Miami, Steve Turner Gallery, 2022. Residencies include the Tilleard Artist Residency in Lamu and a fellowship in Italy at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation. His work features in various collections including the A.R.M Holdings collection, the Africa First collection, ARAK collection, BASMOCA collection, Fahard Bakhitar collection, Fondation Gandur pour l'Art Geneva, Kamita Art Collection, Leridon Collection, Perez Museum collection, Qambani Collection, TAAT collection and the Waugh McDonald collection. This year he was shortlisted for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize.
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Works
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Video
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Exhibitions
March 2025 Group Show
Circle Art Gallery3 March - 17 April 2025We don’t always have the opportunity to exhibit new works from the artists we regularly collaborate with, especially in between their solo exhibitions or curated shows. However, we have recently...Read moreInvocations: A Group Exhibition
Circle Art Gallery24 January - 24 February 2024Read moreDickens Otieno: Trails
Circle Art Gallery29 November 2023 - 6 January 2024Read moreEast African Encounters
Gallery 12, Cromwell Place, London5 - 17 October 2021Read moreDickens Otieno: Mabati Tailor
Circle Art Gallery25 November - 22 December 2020Read moreYoung Guns
Circle Art Gallery7 June - 7 July 2017This exhibition features new drawing, painting, photography and video from 26 emerging artists in Nairobi. The artists work mostly in collectives and communal art spaces across the city. They are...Read more
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Art fairs
Eye Of The Collector
Dickens Otieno, Donald Wasswa17 - 20 May 2023Circle has been invited to show the work of two artists: Dickens Otieno and Donald Wasswa at Eye of the Collector in London in May...Read moreArt Dubai
Dickens Otieno1 - 5 March 2023Meaning 'gateway' in Arabic, Bawwaba exclusively features artworks made in the past year or specifically for Art Dubai, and comprises solo presentations by artists hailing...Read moreArt Dubai
Souad Abdelrassoul, Dickens Otieno, Miska Mohmmed9 - 13 March 2022Group Presentation: Souad Abdlrassoul (Egyptian b. 1974), Dickens Otieno (Kenyan b. 1979), Miska Mohmmed (Sudanese b. 1995).Read moreAKAA Paris
Dickens Otieno, Lemek Tompoika9 - 11 November 2019Read moreART X Lagos
Dickens Otieno, Henry ‘Mzili’ Mujunga, Miska Mohammed.3 - 6 October 2019Read moreCape Town Art Fair
Elias Mung’ora, Dickens Otieno, Longinos Nagila15 - 17 March 2019Read more
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