Precious Okoyomon explained right away
The name has been buzzing across museums and biennials for a reason. Precious Okoyomon is a Nigerian American poet and artist known for turning living ecosystems into art that breathes, grows and sometimes even eats the room.
They build immersive gardens with kudzu vines, sugar, soil, scent and performance. The work maps connections between ecology and history, intimacy and power. That approach earned the 2021 Frieze Artist Award in New York and a major commission inside the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, curated by Cecilia Alemani.
Precious Okoyomon in brief
Based in New York, Precious Okoyomon moves between poetry, sculpture, sound and communal rituals. The installations are alive and time based, often inviting visitors to linger, return and witness change.
Themes recur. Colonial botany and migration. Care and kinship. Spiritual play and the mess of everyday life. Materials are chosen for their histories and behavior, not just their look.
Language matters here. Their poetry book “Ajebota” appeared in 2016, and its tactile, sensory voice spills into the installations. The pratice blurs lines between a garden, a kitchen and a studio.
Key works and milestones
The quick tour that many readers want, with signposts and dates.
- 2016 : Publication of the poetry collection “Ajebota”.
- 2021 : Frieze Artist Award at Frieze New York, a high profile platform for new commissions.
- 2022 : Participation in the 59th Venice Biennale “The Milk of Dreams” with a living garden installation running across the exhibition’s months.
How to read the ecology in Precious Okoyomon’s work
Start with the plants. Kudzu, an invasive vine introduced to the United States in the late 19th century, can grow up to about 30 centimeters a day in warm months. In the gallery, that restless energy turns into a character, not just a material.
Then watch what time does. Sugar melts, soil dries, vines thicken, scent shifts. A room on opening day is not the same room six weeks later. During Venice in 2022, many visitors noticed the work had literally reshaped itself between visits as stems climbed new lines and textures deepened.
Here is the common mistake. Rushing. These pieces reward slow attention and repeat encounters. Even a few minutes of stillness helps. Read the wall text, but also read the air. Notice sound, temperature and how bodies move through the space.
Where to see Precious Okoyomon next
Look to biennials and museums that commission large scale, time based projects. Institutions often plan these invitations months in advance, so curatorial calendars and newsletters are your friend.
Poetry is a good entry point. “Ajebota” sets the tone for the language of care that runs through the installations. Then, when a new commission opens, you already carry the cadence of the voice into the room.
One more tip. Return if possible. These environments evolve over weeks and months, which means your second visit is a different artwork in practice and feel. That living quality is not a metaphor, it is the method and the engine.