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“Closer to Illusion” group exhibition curated by Luana Hildebrandt at Meliksetian Briggs Gallery, Dallas, includes works by artists Bas Jan Ader, Yifan Jiang, Christiane Lyons, Ben Wolf Noam, Joe Reihsen, Aura Rosenberg, Adam Saks, Areum Yang
“Closer to Illusion” group exhibition curated by Luana Hildebrandt at Meliksetian Briggs Gallery, Dallas, includes works by artists Bas Jan Ader, Yifan Jiang, Christiane Lyons, Ben Wolf Noam, Joe Reihsen, Aura Rosenberg, Adam Saks, Areum Yang
Foster Sakyiamah, Red Easter Sunday (2022)
Essay by Luana Hildebrandt
Strikingly vibrant and dazzling with graphic energy, Foster Sakyiamah's painting "Red Easter Sunday" is a superb example of the artist's distinct painterly style that celebrates life and the rich cultural heritage of his country, Ghana.
Taking cues from Malick Sidibé, the Malian artist, noted for his black-and-white photographs against patterned backgrounds, depicting the burgeoning pop culture of the 1960's in Bamako, Foster Sakyiamah captures, in a similar manner, on canvas, the effervescent spirit of his contemporaries in the capital of Ghana, the city where he lives and works. One of the fastest growing cities in the world, Accra experiences a newly found economic freedom, and all the aspects that come with it - prosperity, wealth, fashion and leisure - emerge as the main source of inspiration for the artist's oeuvre.
Created in 2022, following his recent tenure at The Noldor Residency in Accra, "Red Easter Sunday" is part of a recent series of paintings that explore Sakyiamah's psychological connection with his domestic sphere and his thriving community.
The instantly recognizable pop imagery, comprised from two full-frontal portraits, side by side, wearing the same hat, depicts the artist's two sisters in a manner reminiscent of Andy Warhol's double portrait of Truman Capote. The scene juxtaposes one woman brimming with glamour in a very chic dress, next to another one in a more conservative outfit. The contrasting aspect of the tradition, carrying the challenges of the past, versus the fast evolution of the flourishing new world seems to be the predominant atmosphere of this work. Cinematic tension is built through the use of discrepant fashion choices, but the alignment of the subjects on the same color background conveys the artist's belief that human relationships prevail despite cultural clashes.
An emblematic symbol of Foster Sakyiamah's practice is the remarkable clarity of his craft and process. The technical challenge in creating his gestural compositions becomes an equal interest for him. Playing with the boldness of saturated hues, the artist refines the elements in his painting into abstract arrangements of sensuous curves, lyrical yet precise, each carefully positioned so they don't overlap. What resembles a monoprinting technique of the swirly sole of "Chale Wote", the popular Ghanian sandal, renders the background into a flat surface with the appearance of a woven textile pattern. "Chale Wote", the term referring to the flip-flops found in most Ghanian homes and the symbol of the shoe that pervades class, ethnic, gender and age barriers, becomes, consequently, a statement of Sakyiamah's practice that carries the marks of universal motifs and pictorial emotion to a broader appeal.
Movement plays a big role and a plurality of art historical references come to mind when looking at this painting. "To understand how to paint movement, I studied gymnasts" says the artist, channeling Keith Haring's study of dancers to create the sensation of rhythm in his sharp kinetic iconography.
Foster Sakyiamah (b.1983) is an emerging contemporary artist based in Accra, Ghana. Even though his art comes naturally, he developed his artistic skills gradually from his primary education, through middle school up to the advanced level at the Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Ghana. In 2021 Foster was an Artist in Residence at the Noldor Residency, Ghana.
OPENING FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2021
OCTOBER 29, 2021 - JANUARY 15, 2022
IOMO GALLERY, BUCHAREST
TRAVEL GUIDE is a group exhibition curated by Luana Hildebrandt and brings together works from 19 European painters: Teodora Axente, Marius Bercea, Radu Băieș, Răzvan Boar, Zsolt Bodoni, Alin Bozbiciu, Cornel Brudascu, Mircea But, Oana Farcas, Remus Grecu, Adela Janska, Jiri Marek, Cătălina Milea, Justin Mortimer, Mirela Moscu, Attila Szucs, Alexander Tinei, Sergiu Toma, Bogdan Vlăduța
TRAVEL GUIDE opens a dialogue on the practice of painting, between artists of different backgrounds and generational affiliations, and invites the viewer to reflect on the collective mind-flow of our times, in this ongoing period of uncertainty and significant change. The exhibition’s title is a straightforward proposition towards exploration, through figurative iterations, of the organic effects of our experience with the mundane: whether it’s the representational depiction of the physical space or just fragmentary analysis on thoughts, sensations, emotions or expressions. For some of the artists in this exhibition, the act of prolonged immersion in their familiar surroundings and the camaraderies formed with the people in their nearest environment become the focus of their practice. For other artists the natural and urban worlds are replaced by excursions into parallel universes with eerie creatures governed by allegorical rituals.
Text by Luana Hildebrant, October 2020
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