@otis_quaicoe “Black Like Me” Opening this Saturday Jan 11 - March 7, 2020 @robertsprojects This solo presentation brings together new portraits by Ghanian artist #OtisKwameKyeQuaicoe his 1st showing of work in the US. #RobertsProjects showed a work @artbasel Miami which got everyone so excited for this show that it’s already Sold Out rumor has it 🌟 Quaicoe's lush & luminous oil paintings of black men & women, some strangers he streetcasts or encounters on social media, many others who are friends & colleagues, stand as visual testaments to the resilience, power & strength inherent in African culture, as articulated by the artist. His portraits reveal the complexities of human experience w both a boldness of line & a depth of color, allowing the viewer to experience their uniqueness & vitality simultaneously. Quaicoe's figuration is built upon a color palette where color becomes its own language of transformation, be it social, political or personal. These are images of empowerment & redemption, sophistication & humility, curiosity & quietude. Each figure becomes a symbol of the reclamation of cultural dignity, embracing the idea of origin & personal narrative as it relates to gender & race dynamics. That they are posed in classically derived poses only serves to reinforce the artist constructed narrative. As Quaicoe explains, "color means a great deal where I come from. It's a distinguishing quality - the very means of self-expression." Certainly, the colors reflect the subject's state of mind & suggest a more complicated & celebrated relationship to the world around them. The specificity of the palette used - bright oranges, Yves Klein blues, lurid yellows & cherry reds - suggest a fearlessness of intention as well as creating an electrified emotional space where the artist endeavors to capture the essence of each of his subject, including their own personal sense of style & fashion. Otis was born in Accra, Ghana. Together w #AmoakoBoafo he attended the Ghanatta College of Art & Design for Fine Art, w a focus on painting. He currently resides in Oregon #representationmatters #blackidentity #blackness #blackbeauty #blackportraiture #artadvisory (at Roberts Projects) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7GWI6Tlnq5/?igshid=17z2w02u7kpc8
















