Glamorous portraits celebrate the many shades of Black.
Kwesi Botchway’s portraits relish in colour. Flat, brightly coloured backdrops accentuate the dark skin of the figures – which the artist renders in deep, nearly-black shades of purple. Seeking to “elevate Blackness,” the artist sees purple as a symbol of luxury and power, equating his figures with royalty. Highlights are layered in cross-hatching brushstrokes to give the skin an ethereal glow, tying into the expressive painting style Botchway dubs “Afro-impressionism.” In contrast to his earlier realist work, this style draws inspiration from contemporary painters such as Amy Sherald and Kerr...
Bio
Kwesi Botchway (he/him) was born in 1994 in Accra, Ghana. He lives and works in Accra and Brussels, Belgium.
Did you know?
Botchway heads Worldfaze, an Accra-based foundation that works with kids to offer and promote arts education. This community focus brings the artist full circle, as when he was a child he pursued his interest in art by apprenticing for a local street artist.
Education
A fellow graduate of Ghanatta College of Art and Design, Botchway joins close friends Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe and Amoafo Boako in spearheading a young generation of Ghanaian artists making waves internationally.