Artist statement
Building soft systems from hard edges.
Elena Okafor works in Los Angeles, combining painted canvas, cut paper, graphite, and salvaged textiles into compositions that feel architectural without becoming rigid.
Her work starts with grids and measured forms, then lets hand-cut edges, loose fibers, and imperfect marks pull the structure off balance. The tension is deliberate—and deeply human.
“A system becomes interesting the moment something refuses to fit.”
Selected work
Material memory,
held in color.
Fold Study
Mixed media on canvas · 2026