Joy Labinjo reviewed

Frieze published a review on April 14 of Joy Labinjo’s “A Place of Our Own,” a Wolverhampton Art Gallery show of new paintings centered on Black women in private, domestic space. (frieze.com) The exhibition opened on February 7 and runs through May 4, 2026, at Wolverhampton Art Gallery in England. The gallery describes it as a solo show of new work by the British Nigerian artist. (wolverhamptonart.org.uk) Wolverhampton’s listing says the paintings “reclaim space” through intimate depictions of the Black female body, and a gallery video says the show features friends of the artist. The works use Labinjo’s usual bold color, flattened space and patchwork-like surfaces. (wolverhampton.gov.uk) (youtube.com) Frieze reviewer Salena Barry wrote that the figures appear “at ease and unguarded,” not posed for an idealized viewer. Barry placed the show against a longer art-historical tradition in which female nudes have often been made for a spectator’s gaze. (frieze.com) That framing lines up with how other writers and institutions have described the exhibition. Ruth Millington wrote in February that Black femininity has been largely absent from the canon of the nude, while Wolverhampton called the show a presentation of Black female identity through new paintings. (ruthmillington.co.uk) (wolverhampton.gov.uk) Labinjo, born in 1994, is known for large-scale figurative paintings built from family photographs, found images and archival material. Her work has repeatedly focused on Blackness, belonging, community and everyday life rather than grand historical scenes alone. (joylabinjo.com) (anomie-publishing.com) Her recent exhibition history places this Wolverhampton show inside a wider run of museum and institutional visibility. Her website lists appearances including “When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting” at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. (joylabinjo.com) Wolverhampton has also scheduled a public talk tied to the show on April 30, when Labinjo is due to appear in conversation with curator and researcher Aïcha Mehrez. The exhibition remains on view until early May. (wolverhamptonart.org.uk) The review lands as “A Place of Our Own” enters its final weeks, with Frieze casting the paintings as scenes of ordinary presence rather than performance. The show closes on May 4, 2026. (frieze.com) (wolverhamptonart.org.uk)