Artist 101

1.

One to Watch

Born in Ghana and now living in Vienna where was awarded an MFA at the Academy of Fine Arts, Boafo is an exciting young painter. He was the recipient of the Walter Koschatzky Art Prize in 2017 and has been widely collected by private and public collectors and institutions, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, CCS Bard College Hessel Museum of Art, the Albertina Museum, and the Rubell Museum.

2.

Celebrating Black Identity and Culture

Boafo focuses on portraiture. He is part of a wave of Black figurative contemporary artists such as Lynnette Yiadom-Boakye, Jordan Casteel, Kehinde Wiley, and Kerry James Marshall. His work celebrates his own identity and Black culture; he is inspired by his own upbringing, but also the people around him, his friends and family, whom he chooses to depict.

The gaze of the sitter becomes the focal point, penetrating past the surface of the composition, lending a strength and individuality to each work. Some portraits are playful, whilst others are more serious, but all are sincere, personal and celebrative of the Blackness of the subject.

3.

Style and Influences

Boafo’s compositions are incredibly gestural. The artist uses his fingertips to work the paint, enhancing and highlighting the features of the subjects, and this has become one of the defining elements of his practice. His use of bold yet monochromatic colours and contouring textures show a sense of elegance and subtlety. They are also highly intimate – many of the figures are portrayed against a light or monochromatic backdrop, focusing the viewer’s attention on the sitter and their gaze, which demands that we hold it.

Boafo’s portraits have been compared to those of Egon Schiele, whose portraits are also gestural in their approach and often feature monochromatic backgrounds to highlight the intensity and intimacy of his subject’s gaze.

4.

On the Market

Amoako Boafo’s work has been met with great critical acclaim and we have seen this reflected in his performance on the art market, which in turn is part of a growing demand for black figurative artists. He was the talk of the town at Art Basel Miami in December 2019 where Mariane Ibrahim showed a solo exhibition of his work which sold out entirely. This is the first year his works have appeared on the secondary market, and so far they have been consistently outperforming their auction estimates, so this is definitely a great time to acquire his work.

5.

Research and Collecting

If you see a work or an artist with potential, go with your gut and don’t be afraid to mix mediums, genres and styles within your collection. But no matter how on trend Amoako Boafo and other artists appear to be right now, you should always make sure you love the piece that you are buying. Beyond that, provenance is an important factor to consider when you are investing in an artwork, as it can affect the value of the work should you come to sell it later on. It is also essential that you are aware of the artist’s practice and how this might play a part in the condition of a work – for example, some artists use materials and methods which mean their artworks will naturally age or, if they use organic matter, the medium will potentially change over time.

If you want to learn more about particular movements or artists, such as Boafo, it is important to do your research and engage with the art community. There are so many galleries putting on exciting shows – get out there and attend talks and openings for emerging artists as well as the blockbuster shows at major institutions. Keep up to date with websites such as Artnet, Artsy or The Art Newspaper for all the latest news on the international art world, and follow your favourite artists and curators on social media – Boafo can be found on Instagram – to be ahead of the curve.

For more from our Modern & Contemporary Art team, follow @bonhamscontemporary on Instagram.