Entitled “The Unknown Runner”, Ofili’s poster depicts a black line drawing of a muscular man running, framed by the outline of a vase. The poster captures the desire of every athlete to perform at their best on the world’s biggest stage, where runners blur the line between being human and achieving legendary status. Even more, this picture has a mythological quality: the surrounding vase is a reference to the Ancient Olympic Games, which were known for artistic, as well as athletic excellence.

Ofili creates intricate, kaleidoscopic paintings and works on papers that deftly merge abstraction and figuration, while carrying messages about black identity, history, and exoticism. He came to prominence in the nineties for his complex and playful multi-layered paintings, which he bedecked with a signature blend of resin, glitter, collage, and elephant dung. His recent works – vibrant, symbolic, and frequently mysterious – draw upon the lush landscapes and local traditions of the island of Trinidad, where he currently lives and works.

Born in 1968 in Manchester, England, Chris Ofili received his B.F.A. from the Chelsea School of Art, London in 1991 and his M.F.A. from the Royal College of Art, London in 1993. Alongside the recent developments in the artist's material choices, he has remained faithful to a pictorial style that relies on a conscious flattening of the picture plane, carefully layered surfaces, and diverse, history-spanning sources of inspiration.