Carol Muthiga-Oyekunle is a Kenyan-American artist and designer. Her work is influenced by her background in graphic design and her career as a luxury accessories designer. Based in Paris, she holds an MA in Fashion from the Royal College of Art in London. Under her artist pseudonym, inspired by the names of her daughters, Chiara Lola and Siena Lorenza, Lolita Lorenzo works across multiple mediums: eyewear, clutches, jewelry, interior design, illustration, and fine art. This interdisciplinary approach shapes her aesthetic identity. “Her hair is her adornment, and her clothes are her armor.” In Carol Muthiga-Oyekunle’s works, women are depicted as symbolic warriors, radiating strength and joy. The artist skillfully interweaves digital and mixed-media collage techniques, photography, and vibrant graphic elements to create bold and brilliant portraits of her female subjects. The resulting works depict themes from the past, the present, and imagined futures, and hold up a mirror to a patriarchal society. Carol draws inspiration from her daily life, from faces she passes on the street to close friends she admires. Her experimental approach involves fusing disparate elements and styles into a coherent whole; it is these contrasts that add the touch of magic inherent in all her works. Her diverse and multifaceted technique draws on a wide range of classical and modern influences : from Klimt, Matisse, Moser, Mucha, Avedon, Warhol, and Lichtenstein to her contemporaries Kehinde Wiley, Yinka Shonibare, Nick Cave, Bisa Butler, and Wangechi Mutu. Finally, her creative process explores culture, tradition, and Afrofuturism: an artistic and philosophical movement that envisions a futuristic, high-tech African diaspora, where racial equality is a reality rather than an idea. The artist herself describes her subjects as “intergalactic.”

The originality and quality of her art have led her to collaborate on projects with brands such as Visa, Westfield, Motiva, and Marché Noir Lomé Paris. She has also created covers for Lumas Gallery, Empower magazine, and other publications.