Artist
Maggie Otieno
Maggie Otieno, born in 1974, Maggie Otieno, is a Kenyan sculptor and visual artist whose practice unfolds at the intersection of material experimentation, social commentary, and formal abstraction. Based in Nairobi, Otieno initially trained as a painter, joining the Kuna Trust Art Centre in 1996, where her encounter with sculptor Elijah Ogira catalysed a decisive shift toward three-dimensional forms. Captivated by the tactile and expressive potential of sculpture, she soon committed fully to the medium, embarking on a self-guided artistic journey that eschewed formal academic instruction in favour of intuition, curiosity, and relentless experimentation.
Otieno’s early practice was marked by a distinct engagement with stone and wood as discrete materials. Over time, her sculptural vocabulary has evolved to incorporate found objects—most notably weathered wood and rusted metal—fused into totemic compositions that explore the endurance of memory and the resilience of the human spirit. Her signature works, often constructed from century-old railway sleepers, manifest as elongated abstracted figures that straddle figuration and symbolism. These forms, at once solemn and lyrical, evoke states of movement, vulnerability, and communal presence, offering subtle yet poignant reflections on identity, history, and place.
In 2023, Otieno was selected to participate in The Anthropocene Museum 9.0: The Old Sharjah Slaughterhouse Tour, an exhibition by Cave_bureau curated by Tosin Oshinowo for the Sharjah Architecture Triennial. Her inclusion in this context underscores her growing recognition as a vital artistic voice interrogating postcolonial spatial histories and environmental legacies through sculptural practice.
