Maggie Otieno

Maggie Otieno (b. Kenya)

Maggie Otieno (b. Kenya) is a Nairobi-based sculptor whose career spans nearly three decades. Working with mixed media predominantly wood and metal, she creates semi-abstract forms that explore memory, human experience, and environmental histories. After studying Art and Design at Nairobi’s Creative Art Centre, she began her career in painting before transitioning to sculpture in 1999. Her material of focus—reclaimed railway sleepers anchors much of her work in the layered stories of land, labour, and transformation.

Otieno’s sculptures have been exhibited in Kenya, the UAE, the UK, South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Her duo exhibition Solace in Soil at Efie Gallery (Dubai, 2024) reflected her ongoing dialogue with material and memory. In 2023, she was included in Anthropocene Museum 9.0 by Cave Bureau, curated by Tosin Oshinowo for the Sharjah Architecture Triennial. She has participated in international workshops including Braziers (UK), Thupelo (Cape Town), and Abro (Ethiopia), and her commissions include works for Kenya Railways and Trade & Development Bank.