Regulated by a grid format, yet pleasingly undulating, Nigerian ceramic artist and professor Ozioma Onuzulike’s wall-mounted textiles at Marc Straus Gallery are immediately eye catching. Resembling the babariga, a traditional West African men’s garment, closer inspection reveals their construction from palm kernel shells with ‘embroidery’ patterns created of ceramic pieces. Conjuring both the global trade in palm oil and its precedents in the slave trade, Onuzulike’s materials reflect complex histories by also evoking a regal fabric. (On view in Tribeca through April 26th).
